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Bala couple, Temple and Villanova theater professors, hurt in Puerto Rico crash

The head of Temple University's theater department and his wife, a theater professor at Villanova University, were seriously injured Christmas Day when they were struck by a police officer's motorcycle in Puerto Rico.

Harriet Power, 64, and Robert Hedley, 78, of Bala Cynwyd.
Harriet Power, 64, and Robert Hedley, 78, of Bala Cynwyd.Read moreFile photos

The head of Temple University's theater department and his wife, a theater professor at Villanova University, were seriously injured Christmas Day when they were struck by a police officer's motorcycle in Puerto Rico.

Robert Hedley, 78, and Harriet Power, 64, of Bala Cynwyd, suffered fractures and head injuries and were in stable condition at Centro Medico de Rio Piedras in San Juan.

Puerto Rican authorities said the two were accidentally run over in San Juan by a police officer assigned to protect the U.S. territory's governor. The couple had arrived on vacation the day before.

Police said agent Orlando Rodriguez hit the couple with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle late Thursday as they crossed a poorly lit street. Hedley suffered a hip fracture and his wife a fractured pelvis, in addition to their head injuries. Police said they were expected to recover.

Investigators said Rodriguez tested negative for alcohol in a Breathalyzer test.

Jorge Hernandez, director of the police department traffic division, said Rodriguez apparently swerved to avoid the couple but they ran in the same direction.

Douglas Wager, associate dean and artistic director in Temple's theater department, said his colleagues had heard from Power in an e-mail. She said the couple was expected to make a full recovery.

"We don't have any sense of timing with regard to how long they're going to be hospitalized there at this point, but we have no indications of any life-threatening injuries," Wager said.

"But since Bob is 78 and she's 64, there's some concern about Bob's recovery arc."

Peter Reynolds, assistant chair of the department, said the couple's son, Matt Hedley, was en route to Puerto Rico on Saturday to be with his parents.

Hedley, who has led Temple's theater program since 1990, previously served in a similar role at Villanova. He helped found the Philadelphia Theater Company in 1974, and in 2006 was awarded the local theater community's Barrymore Award for lifetime achievement.

Power, who previously was artistic director of Ambler's Act II Playhouse and worked at the Venture Theatre in Philadelphia, directed a production of Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House at the Walnut Street Theatre in the spring.

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Inquirer staff writer Jeremy Roebuck contributed to this article, which also contains information from the Associated Press.