Local officials will release today whether charges will be filed against the Harris Township supervisor who was driving the car that hit and killed a Penn State graduate student in February.

Clifford Warner, 73, struck Xiaohui Xia, 25, while she was crossing South Allen Street near Logan Avenue. Xia died Feb. 14 of injuries sustained in the accident.

State College Police Department Sgt. Mark Argiro said the department plans on releasing a statement today that will indicate the status of the case.

"Before any decision is released, we want to contact those who are most intimately involved," Argiro said, referring to Xia's relatives, who are in China, and Warner.

Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said he has reviewed the case and returned his findings to the police.

Madeira said that while the case review was being completed, he looked at laws concerning similar incidents and for signs of negligence in the accident.

"If in fact there is negligence at the level of what the criminal law requires, that's when we file charges," he said.

Madeira said it was a "tough decision" about whether to file charges.

"We've all been involved in accidents in our lifetime. Unfortunately, some of them end up being fatal," he said.

Argiro said the reconstruction report of the accident is complete and it would be used, along with witness reports, by Madeira to decide whether or not to charge Warner.

Madeira said he will also be releasing a decision in the coming weeks about the status of the case involving a Penn State professor who was killed while riding his bike.

Bohdan Kulakowski, 63, a mechanical engineering professor, died March 22 when he was struck by a van driven by Thomas Fry, 51, on Boalsburg Road.

The reconstruction report is not yet available for the accident, but a decision would be made as soon as it is completed, Madeira said.