Athens police have found the passenger of an SUV that apparently hit an Ohio University student, who died in the accident. The passenger apparently fled the scene of the accident on June 30, according to police.
Police have identified the passenger as William R. Preece.
Circleville police arrested Preece, 29, on July 2, on a felony warrant from Franklin County, Circleville police said. Lt. John Withers of the Athens Police Department said the warrant was for a robbery.
Circleville police reported that Preece was an Athens resident.
We spoke with [Preece] as a witness to the accident
Withers said. No further information was released about their discussion.
Police have also received the results of blood tests for the SUV's driver, 26-year-old April Hankinson of Athens, Withers said. They declined to release the results.
According to a search warrant for Hankinson's vehicle, she reported to police that she had consumed beer and Hypnotiq, a French liqueur, before running a red light on June 30 at Richland Avenue and State Route 682.
An eastbound car on State Route 682 hit Hankinson's Ford Explorer traveling northbound on Richland Avenue, police said.
Hankinson's SUV then skidded on to the sidewalk of the Richland Avenue Bridge and apparently hit Abhishek Singh, a 22-year-old physics graduate student from India, who had been walking. He was knocked over the bridge's guardrail and into the Hocking River, police said. They found his body in the river the following day.
Rob Driscoll, Athens County assistant prosecutor, said a grand jury is scheduled for July 23. He said he could not comment on whether he will present a case to the jury.
Amritjit Singh, an English and African American Studies professor at OU, said he has been in contact with Abhishek Singh's father over the past two weeks. Amritjit Singh is not related to Abhishek Singh.
His family is concerned that justice will not be done in the criminal case being considered by the prosecutor. Singh said in an e-mail.
According to the Athens County coroner's office, autopsy results for Abhishek Singh have not been released yet. 17
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