On September 6, a student from Virginia Tech was charged with driving under the influence after running off the road in Blacksburg and striking two other Tech students walking on the sidewalk, according to police
According to Blacksburg police Capt. Kenneth Gay, 20-year-old Ryan William Wresch registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.16, twice the legal limit of 0.08. He was also charged with marijuana possession.
The victims, 21-year-old Chester native Amanda R. Tyus and 21-year-old Churchville native Kellsye V. Pitsenbarger, were taken to separate hospitals and according to their parents, neither remembers being hit by the car. According to her father, Joe Tyus, Tyus sustained head trauma, a broken right leg, and jaw and pelvis fractures. Her father said that she had to undergo a surgical procedure on her leg at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, as it was broken in two places below the knee.
The accident occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Progress Street NW, a residential area just outside downtown Blacksburg.
According to Tyus’ father, the two women had been at a bar and were walking to Tyus’ home. Tyus’ boyfriend and his brother were walking ahead of them.
The car was eastbound and missed a curve to the left, running off the right side of the road and ending up on the sidewalk. Pitsenbarger was hit by the car and knocked into the road, according to police.
Tyus was thrown onto the car’s hood and into the windshield. She remained on the hood of the vehicle as it moved through a nearby yard, slammed into a chain-link fence, and struck a tree in another yard.
Pitsenbarger and Tyus received transport to Montgomery Regional Hospital, but Tyus later had to be moved to Roanoke Memorial. According to Pitsenbarger’s mother, Jan Pitsenbarger, she sustained a broken leg and her head had been split open and required staples to close the wound.
