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Arrest in hit-run that injured Temple lacrosse player

Philadelphia police have arrested Robert Roberts, 18, of North Philadelphia, in an April 28 hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a Temple University student.

Temple University lacrosse player Rachel Hall (left) was critically injured in a hit-and-run crash near the school's campus on April 29, 2015. Police have recovered the vehicle involved. (Photos from Temple lacrosse and Philadelphia police)
Temple University lacrosse player Rachel Hall (left) was critically injured in a hit-and-run crash near the school's campus on April 29, 2015. Police have recovered the vehicle involved. (Photos from Temple lacrosse and Philadelphia police)Read more

Philadelphia police have arrested Robert Roberts, 18, of North Philadelphia, in an April 28 hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a Temple University student.

Police said Roberts, also known as Rashan Roberts, turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with serious injury, which carries a minimum sentence of 90 days in jail.

Capt. Robert Wilczynski of the department's accident investigation unit said the teenager would likely have faced no charges had he stayed on the scene.

Roberts told police he panicked and drove off after he hit Rachel Hall, 22, because he was driving with only a learner's permit. Hall, who was struck as she biked through a stop sign on the 1300 block of Diamond Street, suffered serious head trauma in the accident.

Wilczynski said she appeared to be improving Thursday but was still unconscious.

"There are no winners in a case like this," he said.

In a Facebook update posted Monday, Hall's mother wrote that her daughter was unconscious, unresponsive, and on a ventilator.

"Every time I hold her hand I hope she will squeeze back, still waiting," Kathy Hall wrote. She said she planned to walk in Rachel's place at her graduation ceremony, scheduled for Friday.

Rachel Hall, of Mullica Hill, played for Temple's varsity lacrosse team and is a criminal justice student.

At a news conference Thursday, police also gave an update on an arrest in a 2014 hit-and-run case. Justin Reidy, 21, of Elizabeth, N.J., was killed waiting for a bus around 3 a.m. on the 9900 block of Academy Road.

Erica Zanzuck, 30, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with homicide by vehicle and homicide by vehicle with DUI. Zanzuck originally claimed she had struck Reidy after being run off the road, police said, but an investigation led to the more serious charges.