NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Molly Svoboda remains in critical condition at the University of Kentucky Hospital after being struck by a Jessamine County Sheriff's deputy's vehicle on the night of March 7.
Kenny Schomp, Svoboda's boyfriend, said the evening began at the Manchester Hotel in Lexington, where the couple had watched the UK-Florida game. About an hour after a photo was taken of Svoboda there, she ended up in critical condition at UK Hospital.
According to Schomp, Svoboda became ill that evening, and instead of going out to dinner, the two headed home. Around 7:30 p.m., while turning onto Wind Haven Drive in Nicholasville, he said she got sick in his vehicle and insisted on walking home instead. He said he let her out in front of nearby businesses after she assured him she felt better walking the half mile home rather than riding in the car.
Svoboda never made it home.
According to Nicholasville Police, dispatch received a call before 8:15 p.m. to check on a woman who appeared to need help near Windhaven Drive. As a Jessamine County deputy responded to the call, police say he pulled into several office parking lots looking for her before running over Svoboda as she was lying on the ground. The deputy called for help and attempted first aid, according to police. Nicholasville Police say the incident is being investigated as a serious injury collision.
Late Monday, Svoboda's family provided a copy of the collision report from Nicholasville Police. According to that report, officers responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian collision on Wind Haven Drive. The deputy, identified in the report as the Unit 1 operator, said he was eastbound on Wind Haven Drive and turned right into the parking lot of 105 Wind Haven Drive. He said that when entering the parking lot near the entrance, he felt something hit his vehicle, then observed a pedestrian lying on the blacktop at the entrance to the parking lot. The deputy stated that due to the downhill slope of the entrance, he was unable to see the pedestrian lying on the ground.
Svoboda was transported to UK Hospital by Jessamine County EMS.
On March 7, the sun set at 6:38 p.m., with it getting completely dark after 7:30 that evening.
Schomp said he questions why the deputy did not see Svoboda. He also said a doctor stated her injuries indicate she may have been hit while standing up, not lying down — a detail that appears to conflict with the deputy's account in the collision report.
According to Schomp, Svoboda was struck in the area of a driveway near the sidewalk.
LEX 18 reached out to the Jessamine County Sheriff's Office for information but was referred to the Nicholasville Police Department.
