Remembering Together

IU senior Ashley Crouse, 21, was killed in a two-car accident that occurred late Monday night on campus, according to the IU Police Department. Crouse was pronounced dead at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday at Bloomington Hospital. \nCrouse, her boyfriend junior Christopher Carlson and senior Julie Greenbaum were driving southbound on Hawthorne Avenue when a gray Honda station wagon struck their red Jeep Cherokee on the driver's side at the intersection of Hawthorne Avenue and Third Street, according to a statement from IUPD. Police are searching for the driver of the station wagon, who fled the scene on foot.\nThe Jeep was wrapped around a stoplight pole in the front yard of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, 1018 E. Third St., of which Crouse was a member. \nCrouse was in the back seat of the vehicle and was thrown about five feet from the car, according to IUPD. Crouse was the only person in the Jeep who was not wearing a seatbelt, according to police.\nPolice believe the driver of the gray Honda station wagon is Alberto DeJesus, a Hispanic male. DeJesus, who is not an IU student, was last seen wearing a tan shirt. Police released no further information as the investigation is still pending.\nAt the time of the accident, the stoplight directing westbound traffic on Third Street was flashing yellow. Northbound and southbound traffic on Hawthorne Avenue had a flashing red light.\nCarlson was driving the Jeep when it was struck by the station wagon. Carlson and Greenbaum were taken to Bloomington Hospital, treated and released early Monday morning. Carlson was tested and showed no signs of alcohol consumption when he arrived at the hospital.\nIU seniors provide aid on scene\nSeniors Norka Acosta and Jami Bennett were driving home from a group project meeting late Monday night when they passed the accident scene. They immediately stopped, retrieved their first-aid kit and assisted in helping the victims.\n"I saw the cars on my left. Because of all the traffic, I was getting ready to try to bypass (the cars)," Bennett said. "Then I noticed there was an accident, and I realized there was no one on the scene. I approached the vehicle ... I got there at the same time as the first officer got on the scene."\nBennett, who is a certified professional rescuer, grabbed her emergency kit to assist the victims.\n"Norka checked (one female victim's) pulse while I was opening up her airway. I tried giving her two breaths," Bennett said.\nBennett said she had a softball-sized patch of blood on her right knee after she helped the victims.\n"Jamie Bennett and I are both certified as American Red Cross instructors, so we just felt it was our duty to come out here and help," Acosta said.\nSenior Adam Peeples also responded to the crash when he heard the impact from about 200 feet away. Peeples said he approached one of the victims and began to lift debris off of her. \n"I went to the scene of the accident, and one of the passengers of the red Jeep was already on the ground and another one was inside the vehicle," Peeples said. "(Crouse) had a couple of objects on top of her. I couldn't tell how she was doing, but she looked like she was in the most severe condition out of all of them. (The objects were) small things -- like a piece of the door was partially on her. The electrical box (from the stoplight) was leaning on her leg."\nSeveral members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the community surrounded the accident scene.\nIf anyone has information pertaining to the incident or knows the location of DeJesus, they are asked to call the IU Police Department at 855-4111.\n-- Contact Campus Editor Mike Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.