LSU Police Department Maj. Bart Thompson will not be charged with a hit and run by the LSUPD for his collision with LSU student Paulina Tran on March 14 because the accident did not fall into the definition of a hit and run, according to LSUPD Spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde.
Thompson said in his statement that upon feeling his car hit something, he exited the vehicle, looked for damage, did not see any and drove away, according to Lalonde.
Lalonde said a hit and run is the intentional failure of the driver to stop his or her vehicle at the scene of the accident, give his or her identity and attempt to help the person hit.
Lalonde said Thompson’s statement claims the major was unaware of the contact with Tran’s vehicle, believing he ran over something related to construction in the area.
The LSUPD crash report did fault Thompson with the accident and said Tran was parked in a no-parking zone, although Lalonde said Tran had a pass to park in that zone due to her job delivering issues of The Daily Reveille.
Thompson saw Tran’s car parked in a “yellow zone” when he got out, but did not see a driver in the car or anyone else around, Lalonde said.
Tran said in a previous interview with The Daily Reveille that she tried to signal Thompson.
The collision was caused when Thompson backed away from an access gate to allow construction worker Greg Gersittner to back up because he did not have a wand to enter, according to Lalonde and the crash report.
Gersittner said he saw Thompson inspect his vehicle and drive away but did not see a hit, according to Lalonde.
Lalonde said LSUPD responds to many reported hit and runs where the driver who ran into the victim was unaware of the accident, and they do not issue citations.