Kelli Hoffert, a psychology junior who was struck by a gray Chevrolet truck on campus around 11 a.m. Tuesday, is now at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center recovering from a skull fracture.
“She’s almost certainly gonna be fine,” Hoffert’s boyfriend, Devon Laws, said.
When asked the name of the man who drove the truck, Lori Hashim, the Cal Poly University Police commander, said she could not release that information at this time.
However, Hashim did confirm that the driver is a 20-year-old Cal Poly student.
The student reportedly turned left in his truck onto Highland Drive from University Drive near Campus Market. A truck tire pinned Hoffert’s foot before she fell to the ground near a crosswalk, according to witnesses.
Hoffert does not have any other bone fractures besides the trauma suffered on the back of her skull due to impact with the pavement. At Sierra Vista she was heavily sedated, which is common procedure surrounding brain trauma accidents, Laws said.
Twenty-four hours after the incident, Hoffert was still sedated.
“She was still asleep when I saw her,” Laws said, “But she looked pretty good considering (everything). She looked totally fine.”
Laws said he didn’t hear the news of Hoffert’s accident until around 1 p.m. when he received a call asking him for emergency contact information.
“I was scared and a little confused,” he said.
After hearing the news, Laws immediately went to Sierra Vista to see his girlfriend.
“Since I’m not family, they wouldn’t give me information at the hospital,” Laws said. “I had to wait for the family to get in from the Bay Area.”
Hoffert’s parents are currently staying in San Luis Obispo, according to Hoffert’s co-worker and friend Juliana Gomes.
“Her parents made it in town in record time,” Gomes said.
Ron Yukelson, a Sierra Vista spokesperson, spoke to the parents of Hoffert, who have declined to comment.
“The parents of Kelli are requesting not to release any information on her condition right now,” he said.
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong also spoke to Hoffert’s father Tuesday night in regards to the accident.
“Our heart goes out to them as part of the Cal Poly family,” Armstrong said. “The university is thinking about Kelli and her recovery.”
As a parent of two college students, Armstrong said he can relate with the parents’ feelings.
“Having your child injured is a parents’ worst nightmare,” he said.
Hashim said she did not have any new information to release as of Wednesday afternoon because the case is still under investigation.
The police report was filed on Tuesday at 11:05 a.m.
According to UPD records manager Fred Mills, the crosswalk where the accident occurred receives heavy foot-traffic every day, especially during class rotation times, but there have been no previous issues in the area of the accident.
Although he said nobody has previously complained about the site of the accident, other areas on campus have posed some problems.
“Generally a couple vehicle collisions occur on campus every year,” Mills said. “But they’re usually associated with bicycles.”
Many students witnessed the accident, including Gomes. She was at the bus stop on University Drive and North Perimeter Road when the collision occurred.
At the time, Gomes said she didn’t realize she knew the victim.
“I saw the University Police from the bus stop,” Gomes said. “If I would’ve known it was Kelli, I would’ve ran over there to see her.”
Gomes said she informed the Cal Poly Newman Catholic Center of the accident in hopes of encouraging prayers for her friend.
“I’ve felt really bad,” she said. “I continue to have her in my thoughts.”
Editor’s note update: It was incorrectly reported that Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said that, “monetary compensation related to the accident will be determined at a later date.” He did not say this. Any monetary compensation is between the involved parties and not the university. We regret the error and it has been corrected.
Editor’s note: The age of the driver has been changed from the original article, in which it said he was 22. Also, the title of Sierra Vist spokesperson Ron Yukelson has been corrected.