UNC Student, Dog Both Injured After Being Hit by Vehicle in Chapel Hill

****UPDATE: As of Tuesday night, the family of Sinclair Larson says she has been released by the hospital.****

A UNC student and her pet are both in the hospital with injuries after being struck by a motor vehicle over the weekend.

The family of Sinclair Larson, a communications student at UNC, recently shared posts saying Larson was struck while walking her dog on East Franklin Street Sunday night. According to the family, a motor vehicle struck Larson and her Australian Shepard, Jasper, as she used a marked crosswalk with flashing lights near Davie Circle.

Emergency responders took Larson to the trauma center at UNC, while a neighbor close to the site of the collision took Jasper to an emergency veterinarian in Chapel Hill. The family reported Larson as having several severe injuries, such as “fractures in her head and face, stitches across her forehead, broken ribs” and more. They said her dog was diagnosed with a hole in his lung and blood in his abdomen.

In a recent social media post, Larson’s mother said the driver of the vehicle who struck her daughter stopped at the scene and will be charged by local authorities. A spokesperson for the Town of Chapel Hill confirmed the pedestrian collision and its location, but said an investigation into the Sunday night incident is still ongoing.

Following Larson’s hospitalization, a GoFundMe fundraiser was set up to help cover costs of the medical bills for both Larson and Jasper. The family estimates the veterinarian costs for the ongoing work to save the Australian Shepard could cost more than $4,000.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $27,174 has been raised by more than 480 donors to support the Larsons.

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