USC Student from Montecito Killed in Hit-Run Crash

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/033009_usc_student_from_santa_barbara_killed_in_hit_and_run/

By Lara Cooper, Noozhawk Staff Writer | 7 p.m. Tuesday

Santa Barbara High graduate Adrianna Bachan and another pedestrian were struck in a crosswalk near the Los Angeles campus

Adrianna Bachan, a USC freshman and Santa Barbara High graduate, was killed early Sunday in Los Angeles after she was struck by a motorist running a red light.

Bachan, 19, of Montecito, was killed and Marcus Garfinkle, 19, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was seriously injured when they were run over as they walked in a crosswalk at Jefferson Boulevard at Hoover Street, on the north side of the USC campus. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. as the pair returned to campus after attending neighborhood parties.

According to Los Angeles police reports, the students were hit by a black or charcoal gray, 1999-2002 Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla. Several witnesses reported that after the car struck the pedestrians, it continued down the street with Garfinkle on the hood. According to witness accounts, the driver stopped and a passenger in the front seat got out, threw the student to the ground, got back in the car and the vehicle sped away. Bachan remained in the road.

Bachan was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Garfinkle is hospitalized at California Hospital Medical Center in serious but stable condition.

As of Monday, no arrests have been made. Police said witnesses described the passenger as a Hispanic male, and officers said the car likely has evidence of damage to the hood and windshield.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward for information leading to the hit-and-run driver. The reward is contingent on a conviction in the case.

According to the USC Daily Trojan, Bachan was an environmental studies major and a new member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was captain of the Santa Barbara High girls’ soccer team her senior year and played on the 2007-08 Santa Barbara Soccer Club Girls Under 19 Premier team coached by Lloyd Biggs, and was a longtime snow-cone booth volunteer at the Children’s Creative Project’s I Madonnari festival at the Santa Barbara Mission.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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