Former Berkeley star D’Angelo victim of hit-and-run driver

Posted Jul 16, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Jul 16, 2010 at 12:43 PM

Former Berkeley Prep distance running standout Olivia D’Angelo, now competing for Emory University, was the victim of a hit-and-run-driver Thursday morning as she was running across a road near the entrance of the campus in Atlanta.

According to one of D’Angelo’s former Berkeley teammates, Page Price, D’Angelo was transported to a nearby hospital, where she underwent six hours of surgery to repair a compound fracture in her leg. Price said D’Angelo is recovering well but is expected to return to Tampa soon for the remainder of her rehabilitation. Last cross country season at Emory, D’Angelo made the school’s varsity squad, which reached the NCAA Division III championships.

Witnesses of the accident said D’Angelo was trying to cross North Decatur Road in front of the main entrance of Emory University when she was struck by a blue SUV. According to the police report, the SUV driver was a woman, who parked the vehicle, got out and looked at D’Angelo laying on the ground. The driver then got back in her car and drove away. Police are still searching for the driver.

At Berkeley, D’Angelo made the first team of the Tampa Tribune’s all-Hillsborough County cross country squad her junior and senior years. Both seasons, D’Angelo finished inthe top three of the county championships, where all schools, both public and private, compete. In her junior year, D’Angelo took all-state honors in the Class 1A finals with a 14th-place effort of 19:34.

A video report of the incident by an Atlanta television station can be seen by following this link: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24266195/detail.html