After weekend wreck, women face recovery

Posted on by Jason Sandford

Friends and family are watching the recovery of Carolyn Anne Kubitschek, 21, of Asheville, and Casey Marie LeSawyer, 21, of Weaverville, after the two were injured when they were struck by a SUV driven by a UNC Chapel Hill tennis star.

News outlets in Chapel Hill and Raleigh have reported that the women, both seniors at UNC Chapel Hill, were walking along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Chapel Hill about 2 a.m. Sunday when a 2004 Nissan Murano veered off the road, hit a wall and stuck them.

Christopher Kearney, 20, the driver of the vehicle, was charged with two felony counts of hit-and-run with personal injury. He also was charged with drunken driving, driving with a provisional license, underage consumption of alcohol, reckless driving and two counts of possession of a fictitious license – all misdemeanors. He registered a blood alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit for drivers 21 years or older, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.

Kearney’s mother posted his bail on Monday and he was released from the Orange County Jail in Hillsboro.

Kearney was ACC Freshman of the Year last year in tennis and made the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American team for 2008.

The Daily Tar Heel newspaper quoted Steve Kirschner, athletic department spokesman, as saying that student athletes charged with felonies are automatically suspended. He said Kearney will be suspended from the spring tennis season while charges remain.

Kubitschek and LeSawyer suffered serious injuries, according to the Raleigh newspaper. Both of Kubitschek’s legs were badly broken. LeSawyer suffered a broken leg and hip and had a deep gash on her head. Both women were listed in good condition at UNC Hospitals, the newspaper reported.

Kubitschek graduated Asheville High School, where she was a student athlete. LeSawyer, a North Buncombe High School graduate, was a 2005 semi-finalist for a Morehead Scholarship.

— Jason Sandford, multimedia reporter

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One thought on “After weekend wreck, women face recovery”

  1. Ginger

    Hillsboro is spelled incorrectly. The correct spelling is Hillsborough–used to live there.

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