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A Downtown Blacksburg street was closed for five hours early Saturday morning, after two pedestrians were injured when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver on Progress Street.
According to Sgt. Nathan P. O’Dell, the Blacksburg Police Department received a call at approximately 1:40 a.m. this morning in reference to a vehicle striking two pedestrians in the 1000 block of Progress Street. It was revealed that a 2001 Honda Civic, which was being operated by Ryan William Wresch of Blacksburg, was traveling at a high rate of speed east on Progress Street, when at the intersection of Watson Street, he ran off the right side of the road onto the sidewalk, striking two pedestrians, who were walking west. One of the pedestrians, Kelsey Pitsenbarger, 21, of Blacksburg, was struck by the front driver’s side of the vehicle and was knocked into the roadway. The other pedestrian, Amanda R. Tyrus, also 21 of Blacksburg, was struck by the front of the vehicle. Tyrus was then thrown onto the hood of the vehicle and then into the windshield, were she remained on the vehicle, while it traveled through the front yard of 1011 Progress Street, crashing through a chain-link fence, before striking a tree in the front yard of 1009 Progress Street, at which point, the vehicle came to a stop. Both Pitsenbarger and Tyrus were transported by the Blacksburg Rescue Squad to Montgomery Regional Hospital. Pitsenbarger suffered injuries to her leg and head, and she was admitted for further treatment. Tyrus was treated for trauma to the head and transferred to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for further treatment. Their conditions were not known early Saturday morning. Wresch, 20, the driver of the Honda Civic, and a passenger in his vehicle were not injured. The investigation revealed that both of them were wearing their seat belts. In addition, both the driver and passenger side air bags deployed during the accident. Wresch was charged with Driving Under the Influence and Possession of Marijuana. He has a $1,500 unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in Blacksburg General District Court at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 17.
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