School of Nursing student hit by car

An alleged drunk driver struck a Johns Hopkins University Nursing School student this Saturday, marking the latest in a string of pedestrian-auto accidents in the Charles Village area.

The incident occurred around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday. The student was crossing East 31st Street between North Charles and St. Paul streets when she was struck by a white station wagon, which was traveling west on 31st Street.

According to Lynn Shultz-Writzel, the director of communications for the School of Nursing, the student was rushed to the Shock Trauma unit of the University of Maryland Medical Center in a stable condition after sustaining serious injuries.

As a matter of policy, Shultz-Writzel declined to release the name of the injured student.

Senior Laura Kushner was in a nearby apartment when she heard what she described as a "weird thud," followed by screams of "oh my god."

At the scene, witnesses described the student as being unconscious for several minutes until paramedics arrived. She appeared to have sustained a head injury.

"As they tried to stabilize her," Kushner said, "she was flailing her legs and she started to scream."

Within minutes, Kushner said, police and fire officials arrived at the scene. The Baltimore City Police at the scene discovered that the driver was intoxicated, and the driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence.

The driver had no affiliation with Hopkins. None of the officers involved in the arrest from the Baltimore City Police could be reached for comment.

According to Shultz-Writzel, the student continues "to recover at the University of Maryland Medical Center in shock trauma and is looking forward to going home."

Shultz-Writzel said the student is on her way to a full recovery.

Maryland has made a recent effort to intensify its laws surrounding driving under the influence.

Offenders now face the mandatory removal of their license for 45 days after the incident, which increases dramatically after each offense.

The fines are $1,000 dollars for the first offense and/ or a year in jail.

Baltimore has traditionally taken an active approach to handling the drunk driving problem.

Baltimore has an innovative corrective treatment center, where drunk driving offenders can be sentenced to a month-long treatment program, followed by a year of follow-up aftercare.

Only around 4 percent of those completing the program have faced re-arrest.