The Penn State student struck Sunday by a State College police vehicle had been drinking before the wreck, according to a borough police report.
It’s not clear how much alcohol Kevin R. Ignatuk, 21, of Thornton, consumed beforehand. The written report, released Monday by the borough police department, does not yet specify his blood-alcohol level. Police said investigators are seeking that data from Ignatuk’s medical records.
Ignatuk remained in critical condition Monday at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, a day after the collision on the 400 block of East Beaver Avenue. He jumped into the path of a borough police sport-utility vehicle at 1:42 a.m. near the Beaver Terrace apartment building, 456 E. Beaver Ave., according to the police report.
The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, driven by borough police Sgt. Bill Muse, was traveling east at roughly 30 mph to 35 mph when the crash happened, Muse told investigators. A moment earlier, he had been briefly distracted by another pedestrian who darted into the roadway, according to the report.
Posted speed limits for that stretch of East Beaver Avenue are 25 mph. Rain was falling at the time of the wreck.
‘Sgt. Muse reported that he had no time to react’ before the Tahoe struck Ignatuk, the report reads. Ignatuk rolled up onto the hood of the vehicle, then fell off, Muse told investigators.
Muse immediately called for help and began delivering medical assistance to Ignatuk, according to the police report. Ignatuk was unconscious and bleeding from his head when back-up arrived, police said. His left leg was deformed.
The front end of the Tahoe buckled from the force of the impact, though its airbags did not deploy.
Ignatuk was taken by Centre LifeLink ambulance to Mount Nittany Medical Center, then flown to Danville. Muse, on patrol at the time of the wreck, was not hurt and had not been drinking, according to the police report.
An investigation into the crash is continuing. The police report lists nine witnesses to the incident.
StateCollege.com will post more information as it becomes available.
