The two victims who were injured in a hit and run last Thursday were confirmed to be Cal Poly sophomores by their friends who were present at the time of the crash.
Caroline and Annabelle, also sophomores at Cal Poly, were walking to a birthday party with the two victims, who were released from the hospital Wednesday evening to receive ongoing treatment in Northern California. Caroline was also clipped by the car, but did not suffer any serious injuries.
The incident happened at 9:30 p.m. The Tesla driver was speeding up Crandall Way, according to Caroline and Annabelle, who were not in the car’s direct line and were pushed out of the way when the car clipped Caroline. The victims of the crash were lifted into the air, and one landed on the windshield. The car did not slow down, leaving the two victims on the ground unresponsive.
Reflecting on the moment, Caroline said, “it just runs through your head over and over.”
Annabelle said, “When we got to the hospital, that’s when I broke down.”
“It’s hard to look up at night when I’m walking around and hearing cars driving by, that’s still a bit rattling,” she explained. “Too often you hear about tragic stuff happening, but you don’t think it will happen so close to you.”
Ishan Pandhare, a junior electrical engineering student and facility supervisor at Cal Poly, was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of hit and run with injury or death.
The dark gray Tesla Model 3 described in the press release from SLOPD did not belong to Pandhare, according to SLOPD public information officer Christine Wallace. The owner of the car helped the police locate the vehicle, which was found early Friday morning.
SLOPD is investigating if Pandhare was impaired at the time of the crash, according to Wallace.
Pandhare did not immediately respond to a request for comment or interview.
Caroline and Annabelle described being grateful that their friends were still alive and how good it was to visit them.
“It’s really good to go to the hospital because it reminds you that they’re still okay,” Caroline said. “Everybody loves them so much and they have a huge support system.”
“It’s been really awesome to see how many people care about them. There’s been so many people at the hospital,” Annabelle said.
Correction: This article was updated to reflect that Annabelle and Caroline were not in the Tesla’s direct line. It previously stated that they had sidestepped the car when in reality they were pushed out of the way by the vehicle.