A former student who was allegedly driving under the influence when she hit a Penn State freshman early Saturday morning told police she was driving without her glasses or contacts, according to court documents.
Michael Drauch, 18, was hit by a Ford Explorer allegedly driven by Katherine Applegate, 23, of State College, at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday on College Avenue outside the Meridian apartment complex. He remained in critical condition yesterday at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.
Applegate also had two passengers in the car, police said. She allegedly fled the scene but was found about 15 minutes later in a nearby parking lot. At the time of her arrest, her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .208 percent, police said. The legal limit is .08 percent.
Police also suspect Drauch was drinking. Several witnesses told police they saw him stumble on the sidewalk, and Quinn Patten, one of the passengers in Applegate's vehicle, told police he stepped into the path of the vehicle, according to court documents. An unknown male passenger was in the back seat, according to court documents. It is unclear when the male passenger exited the car, but he was not at the scene when police arrived, police said.
Casey Melvin, a Princeton University student and friend of Drauch, said Drauch is in a medically induced coma with severe head injuries. He will remain in that coma for seven to 10 days to allow his brain to heal, Melvin said.
She said doctors tested his pupils Sunday and Drauch was responsive but not conscious.
According to the criminal complaint, Applegate told State College police that she is required to wear corrective lenses but was not wearing her glasses or contacts at the time of the accident. She also told police she was smoking a cigarette and singing when the crash occurred, according to court documents.
According to the criminal complaint, the vehicle driven by Applegate belonged to Patten, her roommate.
Police said after hitting Drauch, Applegate drove the car farther down College Avenue by the underpass of University Drive and Patten got out of the car to check on the victim, according to court documents.
Applegate told police she then drove the car to the parking lot of Your Building Center, 1120 E. College Ave., and began to run back to the accident scene. She told police she returned to her car when she saw police patrol cars pull into the parking lot, according to court documents.
According to the complaint, Applegate told police she was driving around 30 to 35 mph in the right lane and that she did not see Drauch until he hit her windshield.
Applegate also told police she had been drinking earlier in the evening and had consumed eight drinks from 2:30 p.m. until the 1:45 a.m. accident, according to court documents.
Jason Ranville, alcohol intervention coordinator in the Penn State Office of Health Promotion and Education, said, on average, the body burns off one normal-sized drink every hour.
Therefore, if the average person consumed 8 drinks spaced evenly over the course of 12 hours, the person's BAC would be around .03 percent, which is below the legal limit, Ranville said.
Generally, if a 140-pound woman would drink six to eight drinks over the course of two or three hours, she'd likely have a BAC of between .16 and .23, he said.
Ranville said after a person has reached .2 percent BAC, they are likely to pass out or black out and the brain loses the ability to react quickly because it cannot filter information the same way.
Applegate has been charged with accidents involving death or personal injury, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, driving under the influence and restrictions on driver's license for driving without contacts or glasses.
She was released from jail Sunday after posting 10 percent of a $75,000 bail.
