ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
The woman charged as the driver who allegedly struck and killed a Virginia Tech student Saturday night has been released on a $5,000 bond.
Tech student Daniel J. Kelly died Saturday while walking on a campus road after he was struck by a car driven by a woman later charged with driving under the influence, Virginia Tech police said.
Kelly's car had run out of gas, and he was walking along the right side of two-lane Southgate Drive when he was hit from behind, police said.
The driver, 47-year-old Evelyn N. Williams, was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. Williams, of Blacksburg, had been held overnight at the Montgomery County Jail.
The accident occurred about 9:45 p.m. near the intersection of Tech Center Drive and Southgate Drive. Kelly, 20, of Timonium, Md., and a female companion had gone about three-quarters of a mile east on Southgate Drive toward campus from U.S. 460, where he had left his vehicle.
Kelly was a sophomore majoring in computer engineering. He was pronounced dead at Columbia Montgomery Regional Hospital shortly after the accident. Police said his companion, also a Tech student, received only minor injuries. Her name was not released.
Williams told police she was driving across Tech's campus to pick up her son when the accident occurred.
She said she never saw Kelly before he was struck by her sedan, police said.
Police said they're not sure whether Kelly was walking on the pavement of Southgate Drive or the road's shoulder, which was covered with snow and ice.
Kelly was an exemplary student in a highly competitive academic program, said Charles Nunnally, assistant dean of Tech's Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering.
"He was strong in every way. He had great promise. It's a shame to lose him," Nunnally said.
Kelly's funeral service will be in Maryland. A campus memorial service for Kelly will be conducted this week by the Newman Catholic Ministry, said Cathryn Goree, Tech's dean of students.
The accident is under investigation, police said.
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Kelly. color. KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB