A 23-year-old Texas woman has died after being pinned under a speeding vehicle while walking with a friend to catch an Uber.
Katherine “Katie” Kerl, a recent graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, was killed just before 10 p.m. Thursday as she and a friend left the Rosewood Mansion Hotel and headed to their rideshare.
Investigators said Kerl and a friend were walking to their parked car outside the luxury hotel when an oncoming vehicle sped around the parked car and crashed into them.
Kerl became trapped under the vehicle after the collision and died on impact, her sister, Abbey Kerl, told Fox4.
“I was on the phone with the officer and he said they got in an Uber and they both got hit,” Abbey, 19, said.
'Katie was run over and died on impact. Her friend just passed out. It's not like she did anything wrong.”
The other victim, a friend traveling with Kerl, was seriously injured and rushed to the hospital by Dallas Fire-Rescue. Their condition appears stable, police said.
However, the driver fled the scene after the fatal accident. It is currently unclear whether they will be prosecuted.
Katherine “Katie” Kerl, 23, a recent graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, was killed just before 10 p.m. Thursday as she and a friend left the Rosewood Mansion Hotel.
Investigators said Kerl and a friend were walking to their parked car outside the luxury hotel when an oncoming vehicle sped around the parked car and crashed into them. In the photo: Katie Kerl (right) with her family
David Pemberton, a witness who lives across the street from the hotel on the 3400 block of Gillespie Street, said the crash was “so loud” he knew “something bad had happened.”
'It was so loud. There was so much activity that you knew something bad had happened,” Pemberton said.
The Dallas resident added that the area outside the busy hotel was a “dangerous” area as there are often many rideshare vehicles in the narrow roadway.
“It's very dangerous here because of the Ubers across the street. There are five to eight parked there, making the street one-way. And people drive so fast here that it's even scary to walk,” he told Fox4.
Kerl's family is devastated by their loss. The youngster had stayed in the Dallas area after graduating from SMU because she “fell in love” with the city.
David Pemberton, who lives opposite the Rosewood Mansion Hotel, said the area outside the busy hotel was a 'dangerous' area as there are often many rideshare vehicles on the narrow roadway. Pictured: Outside the Rosewood Mansion Hotel in Dallas, Texas
“Never in a million years did I ever think I would have to say goodbye so soon. But rest in paradise dear friend, thank you for being the best sister you could ask for,” Abbey said in an Instagram tribute to her sister
Kerl, originally from Florida, was a role model for her younger sister, who said her sister was “the light of the family.”
“Never in a million years did I ever think I would have to say goodbye so soon. But rest in paradise dear friend, thank you for being the best sister you could ever ask for,” Abbey said in an Instagram tribute to her sister.
“Thank you for being the best role model to look up to and for always entertaining us all. You were the light of our family Katie.
“You are truly a beautiful soul inside and out and words cannot explain how much I will miss you, but I know you will watch over me the rest of the way.”
The driver's details have not yet been released. The investigation is ongoing.
