A University of Minnesota student may face criminal charges following a car accident on Fourth Street near campus early Sunday.
Former University student Kandyce Stoffel, 23, and Travis Smith, 25, were both hit by a vehicle while avoiding sidewalk construction in Dinkytown early Sunday morning. They were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where Stoffel was in critical condition Sunday and later died. Smith declined to comment.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as John R. Peterson, 23, a University student.
Peterson may have been under the influence of alcohol, Minneapolis Police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said.
He was arrested on charges of criminal vehicular injury, Garcia said.
Shortly before 3 a.m., two groups of pedestrians were walking around a construction area at the intersection of 12th Avenue and Fourth Street Southeast, he said.
Witnesses said pedestrians stepped into traffic to avoid the construction area, and two were struck by a vehicle, possibly a white sedan.
Bryan Dop, a University student, was walking with friends when he saw the accident about a block away. He said that when he reached the scene, two people were âÄúon the street receiving CPR.âÄù
University student Jane Johnson went to high school with Stoffel. The two also ran track together.
âÄú[Stoffel] was really well-liked by everyone,âÄù said Johnson.
Brittany Baron, a friend of StoffelâÄôs, was also on the scene Sunday morning. She said the group left a bar and walked along the sidewalk, where they ran into the construction area.
This is the second fatal accident this month involving alcohol and University students. Earlier in October, two students affiliated with the University were killed in Wisconsin after allegedly being struck by a drunk driver.