Arrest made in hit- and-run

University Police have arrested a suspect in the Sunday evening hit-and-run on 4th Street near Century Park that sent one student to the hospital.

The suspect, who has not been named by police, was interviewed and arrested Wednesday morning after being identified through surveillance camera footage that showed the accident, police officials said. 

The suspect was being held without bail in the Forrest County Jail Wednesday night pending an initial hearing.

University Police Chief Bob Hopkins said the suspect is not a student at Southern Miss, but no more information on the accused was available Wednesday night.  

Hopkins said the suspect will be charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing injury, which is a felony in Mississippi.

The incident happened around 6 p.m. Sunday when a student on a bicycle was struck by a vehicle traveling west on 4th Street near Century Park and the parking garage. Through surveillance cameras in the area, police were able to identify the vehicle as a “white, late-model SUV”. 

The student injured in the accident was taken to Forrest General Hospital and treated and released. Hopkins said the student’s injuries “were not life-threatening.” 

The area where the student was struck is a 15 mph zone, and Hopkins said “several thousand tickets are issued over a year.”

Hopkins added that people using the crosswalks and roadways should be cautious at all times. 

“This was an easily preventable accident,” Hopkins said. “We have to remind students, faculty and staff to be very cautious with walking or biking or different modes of transportation.  We have more pedestrians walking to and from campus now more than ever.”