Student Injured in Hit-and-Run Identified [Updated]
Updated, Nov.17, 8:50 a.m. PDT | In an email sent to students and faculty in USC's Marshall School of Business, Dean James D. Ellis identified the 21-year-old hit-and-run victim as Othman Alothman. Alothman is a senior majoring in business administration and is an international student from Kuwait. According to Ellis, he remains hospitalized in critical condition with numerous fractures.
In the email, Ellis also encourage students to send words of encouragement to Othman:
"Please keep Othman and his family in your thoughts as he continues to recover from his injuries. If your would like to send your well wishes to Othman, please feel free to bring your cards or letters to my office... and we will make sure they get to Othman. As he travels the road to recovery, I am sure he will appreciate some words of cheer and encouragement from his USC Marshall family as well, not the least of which would be....Fight On!"
Police announced last week Jose Arevalo as the person of interest in the hit and run that seriously injured the 21-year-old student. Police believe Arevalo could leave the country.
Around 6:40 p.m. on Nov. 8, Alothman was driving a motorcycle when he collided with a van at the intersection of Vermont and Lexington Avenues.
"I heard an explosion and I came outside and I saw a motorcyclist in the middle of the street," Sharif Hazma, a bystander, told ATVN.
Police recovered the 1993 GMC Safari van involved in the accident early afternoon on Nov. 9.
According to the LAPD, the suspect left the scene of the accident without identifying himself or giving aid, as required by law.
If you have any information, please contact LAPD Central Traffic Division Det. Josephine Mapson at (213) 972-1840. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
