Alumna Emily May was killed in a car accident last Thursday which also involved Danielle Polumbo, a senior in biochemistry. Polumbo drove the car, according to Jamie Smith of the Fayetteville Police Department. The Police charged Polumbo with a charge of Driving While Impaired.
Polumbo drove her car, a Mustang, into a pole after crossing the center dividing lane at the intersection of Bragg Boulevard and Sycamore Dairy Road, Smith said. The pole fell over and a red light camera on top of the pole dented the car’s roof on the passenger side, critically injuring May.
Emergency personnel immediately transported May to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where she passed away Friday morning.
Polumbo could not be reached this week for comment. She has a court date for June 13, according to a representative of the Cumberland County Clerk of Court.
Smith said as of yet, Polumbo has no additional charges.
“It was the only car involved and the driver was immediately taken into custody,” Smith said.
According to a representative from the Cumberland County Jail, Polumbo did not stay overnight.
Family and friends held a visitation for May Wednesday night in Greensboro. Her funeral is today in Jamestown, N.C., at 2 p.m. at the Jamestown Friends Meeting.
The DWI incident is part of a growing trend of these kinds of accidents involving the campus community, according to Paul Cousins, the director of the Office of Student Conduct.
“DWIs are one of the fastest growing incidents that we’re involved with,” Cousins said. “The numbers are scary.”
The Office of Student Conduct gathers information from a variety of sources, such as the evening news, local newspapers and concerned citizens, according to to Cousins.
“We gather information about the situation,” he said. “We make calls, get copies of reports and then make a determination about whether or not the student’s off-campus behavior is something that the University needs to be involved in.”
Cousins added that the elements of Polumbo’s case clearly suggest it is an incident the University needs to be involved in.
“Each case is different and with criminal charges students need to navigate through the entire process,” Cousins said.
When students face criminal charges, the Office of Student Conduct gives them the option of withdrawing from the University, so they may take care of the case. If the students choose not to do so, they will have to deal with charges from the University and the court, which Cousins said may become too much to handle for the students.
