A University of Central Florida senior remains in a coma after suffering severe injuries from a hit-and-run crash near campus on June 22, according to court testimony.
The alleged driver, Yousuf Hasan, 25, is accused of two DUI hit-and-runs in a single night: One against a vehicle causing him to lose his front bumper on Alafaya and another which left London Harrel, a 21-year-old UCF senior, in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Hasan is facing multiple charges, including leaving the scene of a crash involving serious injury and driving while under the influence resulting in serious bodily injury, according to a Florida Highway Patrol press release.
At Hasan’s first appearance Sunday, the victim’s father spoke to a judge, sharing that his daughter “is currently being kept alive by a respirator and is in a coma. Her survival does not appear likely.”
According to a Florida Highway Patrol press release, witnesses say that Harrell was struck by Hasan’s 2015 Acura ILX while walking a grass shoulder on Napiers Circle near UCF, just before 1 a.m. on Saturday morning.
When troopers arrived on the scene, Hasan was not there, FHP reports.
Deputies later located Hasan and his black Acura in a parking lot near 11850 University Boulevard – near Wawa and Collegiate Village Inn, according to the FHP press release. Hasan was found sleeping on the ground near his vehicle, troopers said.
According to an FHP arrest affidavit, Hasan’s black Acura was found with “damage to the front of the vehicle, consistent with the first traffic crash, and damage to the windshield with blood and hair matching the hair color of the pedestrian at the second traffic crash.”
Hasan was described as slurring his speech and “notably struggling to stand up straight,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Hasan underwent a field sobriety test by troopers and failed, but ultimately tested negative for alcohol in his breath samples at the Orange County Jail, according to the arrest affidavit.
According to the FHP press release, crash and DUI troopers believe Hasan was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident. A blood sample has been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for evaluation.
Hasan was released on bond set at $11,500 Monday morning despite a plea from her father.
“Our family pleads with the court to deny bond and to prevent this monster from harming anyone else as we await the judicial process,” the victim’s father told the judge.
The judge offered sympathies to the father, but due to the charges currently held against Hasan, the court cannot hold him without bond – something both the state and public defender agreed upon.
Hassan is barred from operating ‘anything with a motor’, consuming alcohol, and forced to surrender his vehicle, according to court records.
The court has also outfitted Hasan with SCRAM, a bracelet which attaches to a person’s ankle and detects the presence of alcohol in sweat.
Harrell remains in critical condition at ORMC as the crash remains under investigation.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
