An 18-year-old Floral Park native is in a medically induced coma after being struck by a dirt bike in a hit-and-run incident in Albany just after midnight Saturday, according to Albany police and her father.
Alexa Kropf, a freshman at University at Albany, was walking along a road with her friends very early Saturday, according to multiple reports.
Multiple witnesses said they saw a man driving a dirt bike down the road at a very fast speed while he weaved in and out of groups of people, police said.
It is illegal to operate dirt bikes on any Albany street or sidewalk, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said in a joint Facebook post.
The driver fled the scene after hitting the victim, throwing Kropf in the air before she landed in the road several feet away from where she was struck, police said.
Officers found the victim in the road with a serious head injury and a fractured leg, police said. Kropf was treated on scene by EMTs and transferred to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where she was in critical condition, police said.
The investigation remains ongoing as the driver has not yet stepped forward, police said. Sheehan and Hawkins said they are “deeply troubled by the unconscionable depravity shown by the driver” and urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement officials.
A GoFundMe designated to raise funds for Kropf’s surgeries and recovery has reached $62,170 of its $70,000 goal, according to the GoFundMe website.
“Hi my name is Christine Loper. My best friend Roni Fornabia’s daughter Alexa Kropf was away at college and the victim of a hit and run,” the GoFundMe site description said. “Alexa is going to need multiple surgeries and will have a VERY long recovery…Roni will need to be by her side and will need assistance with medical bills and will be out of work as well.”
The accident came just days before Kropf was set to finish her first year at college.
“Our thoughts are most immediately with the injured student and her family and friends as she begins what we hope will be a complete recovery,” Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, a University at Albany spokesperson, said in a statement. “It is heartbreaking any time a member of our community is seriously injured – but especially so near the end of the semester.”
Residential life staff at the university have been in contact with Kropf’s roommates and counseling and psychological services are available for all students, Carleo-Evangelist said.
The university is grateful for the police department’s efforts and urges anyone with information on the incident to step forward, Carleo-Evangelist said.
The Long Island student is a Floral Park Memorial High graduate.
“Due to the privacy of the family, the district has no comment, but Alexa and her family have all of our support and positive affirmations in her recovery,” Sewanhaka Interim Superintendent Thomas Dolan said in a statement.
