UTEP police report states volleyball player was driving distracted when she struck, killed student in November

A sophomore UTEP volleyball player was distracted while driving when she struck and killed a foreign exchange student in a Miner Village parking lot on Nov. 15, according to a UTEP Police incident report.

Achim F. Schweighofer, a foreign exchange student at UTEP, was the person hit by the vehicle and died Nov. 16 as a result of his injuries.

According to the UTEP Police incident report, Madison Morris says she was driving northwest in the parking lot of Miner Village when she “dropped a piece of paper and reached down to retreive the paper. When she looked up, she saw (Achim) in front of her, just as she struck him, knocking him to the ground.”

A man who witnessed the incident, and a friend of Achim, said in the report that he saw Achim walking in the middle of the parking lot, carrying a vacuum cleaner and a bucket.

The witness said he saw the vehicle strike Achim, who appeared to be unconscious after being hit, and ran out to help him. Achim was transported to University Medical Center.

The report stated that unattention and distraction on the part of Morris were factors in the crash. The report did not state alcohol or speed were contributing factors in the accident.

UTEP Police have completed the investigation and presented the case to the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office who will decide how to proceed.

Morris, of Lampasas, Texas, recently completed her sophomore season at UTEP where she is a middle blocker on the volleyball team.