At the University of Southern California last Sunday morning, two students were coming home from a party and were hit by a car.
One, Adrianna Bachan, was killed while the other, Marcus Garfinkle, was seriously injured.
The driver ran a red light, hit the two students and then drove away.
Garfinkle was caught on the hood of the car for an unknown amount of time before a passenger in the car got out and pulled him off the hood.
Local police Detective Jimmy Render said about the driver, “he was heartless, lacked courage, had no regard for human life. This individual should certainly be behind bars.”
As of yesterday, no one has been arrested.
Other students were also returning from off-campus fraternity parties and about four or five students were witness to the accident, although no license plate number was recorded.
Yesterday, Bachman’s mother screamed at pedestrians at the scene of her daughter’s death, saying “please if you saw my daughter being killed, please help me.”
DU has seen its own brand of crime in the last several weeks.
Threats and danger are present on every campus. In an Assoicated Press article about USC, a former student of the university was quoted as saying “there are crazies everywhere, I guess.”
In both cases, nobody has been charged with the crimes. At DU, a composite sketch of the thief was released, helping as much as a caricature would in identifying the man stealing from the homes near DU.
The fact that the culprit is still at large is as disconcerting as the crime itself. DU students and local residents alike are still at risk of robbery and possibly a violent encounter.
As a student, I think it is important for the university to remain responsible for notification.
Staying informed is extremely important for students. Being aware is the first step towards safety.
Chancellor Coombe didn’t send out an informative e-mail until March 13, as he admits in the e-mail, after numerous months of burglaries and robberies that began around Thanksgiving. Some of the victims were my friends and so I felt updated and educated. But, for those without friends personally affected, little information other than gossip was available.
There have been no more incidents since the start of spring break. There was a great deal of media publication at this time, including Chancellor Coombe’s email and the sketch.
Many believe the burglar has been scared off because of all the media coverage.
Hopefully the suggestion is right and we have seen the last of this burglar.
Having so much information given by the university and off-campus sources has helped to make me feel better and may have even stopped this felon.
I see our campus as being a safe place for students, and DU does so much to keep it this way.
I hope that campus officials continue to keep everyone informed about unsafe circumstances.
