A Penn State freshman was critically injured early Saturday morning when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a former student under the influence of alcohol, police said.

Michael Drauch, 18, was crossing the street at about 1:45 a.m. in front of the Meridian apartment complex on the 600 block of East College Avenue when a Ford Explorer struck him and then fled the scene, according to the State College Police Department.

Police said the Explorer was found about 15 minutes after the accident in the Your Building Center parking lot, 1120 E. College Ave., about 5,000 feet from the crash scene.

Police said the driver, Katherine Applegate, 23, of State College, was placed in Centre County Correctional Facility in lieu of $75,000 bail on charges of accidents involving death or serious bodily injury, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence and DUI. She was released after posting 10 percent of the bail, according to the correctional facility.

Applegate's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of her arrest was .208 percent, police said. The legal limit is .08 percent.

Applegate was not in her car when it was found but returned several minutes later in wet clothing, according to the police report. She told police she was attempting to walk to the accident scene and ended up in a nearby creek, police said.

Police said they believe Drauch was not in a marked crosswalk when he crossed the street, and that he had been drinking. They are conducting an investigation to determine who supplied him with alcohol.

According to the accident report, Drauch was found bleeding from a head wound and had vomited. He never regained consciousness while being transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Drauch remained in critical condition yesterday in the adult intensive care unit at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

Police will not know if Applegate was speeding until the accident reconstruction is completed in the coming weeks. The speed limit on that section of College Avenue is 25 mph.

The accident is the second alleged alcohol-related pedestrian crash in less than two months. Richard Smith, a visitor, was killed, and Penn State student Aaron Stidd, 20, was critically injured when they were hit by a car while walking across Atherton Street Oct. 28. Penn State student Anthony Torsell, 20, was arrested and is charged in connection with incident. Police said Torsell's BAC was .242 percent at the time of arrest.

Stidd also remains in critical condition in the adult intensive care unit at Geisinger.

Bill O'Tormey, current Thon Operations chairman, said Applegate graduated after being an OPP recycling captain for Thon 2006. He said Applegate has been working at the Penn Stater and living in State College for the semester.

Applegate's preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled.