JHU Alpha Phi Killed in Hit and Run
 

Last night, a Johns Hopkins University junior, Miriam Frankl, was killed after being hit by a truck in front of her apartment building. She was hit around 3:20 in the afternoon, at which point she was transported to Shock Trauma and put on life support until her family could be there. She passed at approximately 2:30 am. She was a sister of Alpha Phi sorority. This incident has devastated the Greek Community, where Miriam was well-known and loved. I remember rushing her when I was a sophomore, and she was a close friend of several of my sisters. Her sisters and her boyfriend, a Sigma Phi Epsilon, are receiving an outpouring of support from the Greeks. Miriam was on her way to attend a charity cook-off as part of Greek Week. The rest of Greek Week has been cancelled, which the exception of a tailgate today which has been converted into more of a show of support for Alpha Phi. All attendees have been asked to wear red.

My prayers and deepest condolences to Miriam's friends, families and sisters. She was a truly amazing young women and will be sorely missed. Please send your thoughts and prayers to the women of Alpha Phi, particulrly Zeta Omicron chapter.

Here are a few news articles. The driver is still at large.

http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/m...-3805869.shtml

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/21321973/detail.html

My Prayers and Condolences to the Frankl family.

My condolences to her family, friends and sisters of Alpha Phi Fraternity.

My thoughts and prayers to her family, friends and sisters.

My thoughts and prayers go to her friends and families.

Her sisters and her family are in my thoughts and prayers today.

This is very sad to hear this happen to a lovely young woman. My sympathy and prayers goes out to the Frankl Family and to the sisters of Alpha Phi.

ZBT: :Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present & Impacting the Future."

Wow, my prayers are with the young lady's family and chapter. Traffic around the university is absolutely insane sometimes.

This sumbitch should have Bern nicknamed DUI
he was given too many damn chances. I hope they nail the bastard to the wall

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...197,full.story

I went to school down the street from JHU and my sorority chapter encompassed JHU, so this story is near to my heart. My prayers are with the school community, her family, friends, and sorority sisters. What an incredibly sad thing.

I hope that they can nail him with vehicular manslaughter, though it looks like they may not be able to:

"To charge automobile manslaughter prosecutors would need to prove that Meighan struck JHU junior Miriam Frankl with his white Ford F-250 and was drinking and showing active negligence while doing so, or that he was driving with gross negligence - a "wanton and reckless disregard for human life."

But so far, they've yet to publicly prove he was driving the vehicle. Witnesses place the white truck driving erratically throughout Baltimore for hours on Oct. 16, the day of the hit-and-run, but Meighan claims he lent his vehicle to a friend. A call to his attorney Tuesday was not returned.

Lawyers unaffiliated with the case said the remaining charges suggest that prosecutors can show Meighan was the driver.

"They must believe that they can put him behind the wheel [or] they shouldn't be able to charge him with anything," said Brian G. Thompson, a former assistant state's attorney who is now in private practice in Baltimore. They might not, however, be able to show the negligence component, he said."

The rest of the article:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,5305325.story

At least they revoked his bail:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,5043180.story

As the vehicle owner, he should have some liability. If he declines to name the 'friend', he should absorb ALL of the liability.

Driver Indicted
 

The JHU News-Letter reports that the driver has been indicted. Hopefully this will help bring some comfort to Miriam's family and friends.

http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/m...845365.shtml#5

From the article:

On Nov. 25 Thomas Meighan, the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed Hopkins junior Miriam Frankl, was indicted by a Baltimore City Grand Jury.

According to a press release by the state attorney's office, Meighan has been charged with automobile manslaughter, four counts of leaving the scene of an accident, one count of failure to render aid, two counts of driving on a suspended license and two counts of driving a vehicle without an interlock device.

Meighan is currently being held without bail in the Baltimore Detention Center and faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison... Of the 35-year sentence he faces, 10 of those years are a result of the charge of automobile manslaughter that occurred in October.

These charges came as a result of evidence gathered over the past six weeks following the death of Frankl, as well as from the accounts of many witnesses who offered information after hearing about the tragic events... According to Burns, Meighan will be arraigned in mid-December, but his trial will be sometime early next year.

It sounds like the driver needs a serious intervention for the sake of people he encounters in the future. How horrible for this incident to be what finally puts him where he needs to be.

My prayers go out to the family and all affected by this tragedy. It's so sad when someone leaves us earlier than they should.