Reggie Lualhati
The Daily Illini

A young man was a victim of a hit and run accident early Saturday morning at 1:21 a.m., according to a police report.

The young man — Stephen Peron, a 19-year old student at Illinois State University — was out with his girlfriend, freshman in LAS Kelly Vetrano, and two other friends.

He was released from Carle Hospital Saturday morning, without serious injuries.

Vetrano said they had just gotten off the bus and were talking on the corner of First and Daniel streets for a couple of minutes. She said Peron was the first to attempt to cross. He first looked to the left, and as he checked to his right, he was hit by a northbound car on First Street, Vetrano said.

“We didn’t see the car (coming) at all,” Vetrano said. “The car was pretty close to the side of the road.”

Senior in FAA Briana Nyman said she and a friend junior in LAS Chris Ruth were driving south on First Street and saw the group of people trying to cross.

Ruth said it seemed that “one of the guys kind of wandered into the street.”

At about the same moment, Nyman, sitting in the passenger seat, said she witnessed a northbound white sedan that “seemed to be going pretty fast.” She then said she heard something getting hit.

“I heard the sound of an impact and looked in the rear view mirror and realized that a boy was hit,” Nyman said.

She added that the car did not stop and continued traveling north on First Street.

Ruth said they immediately pulled over to see if they could help.

The police arrived on the scene first, and Ruth provided them with an eyewitness statement. He described the car as larger, possibly a sedan. He said the curves indicated that it was a model from the early 1990’s — maybe a Ford Taurus or Pontiac Grand Am.

The police report stated that the officer measured a distance of 67 feet from the point of impact with the hood of the car to where Stephen was found lying in the street. The officer reported finding windshield glass on the street.

The officer also reported visiting Peron at Carle Hospital, where he was taken by ambulance. According to the police report, Peron had scratches on his upper body and a large cut on his forehead. It also read that Peron had admitted to “consuming five or six beers during the evening.”

Peron was treated and later released without serious injury.

Vetrano said her boyfriend is improving.

“He’s moving around a lot better,” Vetrano said. “The car seemed to be going about 40 mph … he’s pretty lucky.”

The police report also stated that “no one at the scene could provide any information of the driver or possible passengers.”