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UGA freshman in coma after accident
Student went without medical care for 20 hours
By Kate Carter and Kimberly E. Mock
kcarter@onlineathens.com and
kmock@onlineathens.com
A University of Georgia freshman remains hospitalized after being thrown from the bed of a moving truck early Thursday and going without medical care for nearly 24 hours afterward.
According to an April 19 police report, 19-year-old Travis F. Starr III, of Martinez, was ejected from the moving truck's bed at about 2:15 a.m. Thursday after its driver, UGA freshman Brett Alan Steele, took a sharp, fast turn off of Cloverhurst Ave. onto Mell St.
Steele told police he and two other passengers, UGA freshmen Robert Zorich and Ben Watson Martin, were returning from downtown Athens when the accident occurred.
All four men are members of the UGA chapter of the Lambda Chi fraternity.
Steele said he took Starr back to his Lumpkin St. apartment, and left him on a sofa for the remainder of the night.
According to the report, Steele and others checked on Starr at around 9:15 p.m. Thursday night, and then transported him to St. Mary's Hospital in Athens.
Starr was later taken to University Hospital in Augusta for treatment.
The police report, which was filed two days after the accident at 4 p.m. Saturday by Starr's brother-in-law, Steven Ratley, stated that Starr was in a coma and had suffered kidney failure.
On Sunday, an official with University Hospital said Starr is being held in the hospital's neural intensive care unit.
Asked why Starr would not have been taken to the hospital by his friends immediately after the accident, Lambda Chi member David Burch said Sunday, ''People have accidents late at night all the time. They probably didn't think it was that serious, and then realized it later on.... Certainly we should learn a lesson from this - that you need to take every precaution.''
Richard Rose, UGA vice president for student affairs, said he was notified of the accident on Thursday night but admitted details about the incident were still being pieced together.
Rose added it is unclear as to whether or not the four students were returning from a fraternity-sponsored event, and said UGA's student judiciary committee may look into the matter if there is evidence the four men were breaking regulations set forth in the university's code of conduct.
''Right now, we don't know how or if this was related to a university event,'' Rose said. ''As far as we can tell, it was not (related to) a hazing incident or fraternity event.''
Burch, a UGA senior, called the accident ''horrible'' and said the four freshmen had finished pledging in the fall.
In the police report, Steele, who owns the truck Starr was ejected from, told police the four had been in downtown Athens.
Steele told police he had not been drinking and driving, and added that he made the last-minute turn because he was following directions from a passenger in the truck.
Athens Clarke County Police Department Capt. Charles Newson said investigators are still trying to determine what happened in the accident before beginning any discussion about raising possible charges.
''We don't know if there are even any criminal charges - that will all depend on what evidence is found,'' Newson said Sunday afternoon. ''It's way too early to tell right now... It could just be an accident and no charges are filed. What the investigation will tell us is if anyone involved has done anything wrong.''
On Sunday afternoon, Ratley said the family's focus is on Starr's recovery.
''Right now the family would like this to remain a private matter,'' Ratley said via telephone. ''But we would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support in this matter.''
Tyler Reams, president of Lambda Chi fraternity, said he spoke with Starr's parents Sunday and was told that Starr's vital signs show he is in stable condition.
''I told them we're supporting them with prayer, just hoping everything works out alright,'' he said.
Both Reams and Burch said the four members were not involved in any fraternity-related event on Wednesday.
''This isn't a fraternity-related thing at all,'' he said. ''He just happened to have an unfortunate accident.''
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, April 21, 2003.
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