An “illegal dirt bike” struck a University of Albany student just after midnight on April 27, leaving her in a coma, according to her family and the Albany Police Department in New York.
After numerous surgeries, Alexa Kropf, 19, of Long Island, is making some progress this week, but she will require home transportation after hospital discharge.
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“It’s a nightmare for any parent. “I would never wish it on anyone,” Alexa’s father, Jim Kropf, told us.
Alexa Kropf’s father reported she had two brain surgeries to remove hemorrhage and edema. She also broke two bones in her lower right leg, fractured her pelvis, cracked five ribs, and had bruised lungs.
Jim Kropf described his daughter as kind, fun, responsible, and hardworking. She is “a best friend” to her younger sister, and her younger brother “looks up to her.”
“This beautiful girl, with her head half shaved, reveals 50 staples in her skull, the result of two surgical cuts to her skull. You see swelling, scars, and more staples in her leg. It’s horrifying to see a feeding tube and oxygen coming up through her nose. Every time I approach the bed to talk to her, I get really emotional. Furthermore, you must maintain an optimistic attitude. It’s terrible for a parent to have to do that.”
Albany police are still looking for the suspect, a male, who was “driving an illegal dirt bike at a high rate of speed while weaving in and out of groups of people in the roadway” on the 400 block of Hudson Avenue when he hit Kropf, according to a press release.
Police said, “The suspect struck the victim while driving at a high rate of speed, throwing her into the air and landing in the roadway several feet away from the initial impact.”
Alexa had been out with friends on Saturday night when the dirt biker hit her on a one-way street. Jim thanked Alexa’s pals for calling for aid right away.
“According to [Alexa’s friends’] recollection, the officer pretty much said, ‘You can’t leave,’ because [the suspect] had fallen off the bike,” Jim explained. “They tended to my daughter, and then they turned around, and he pretty much flipped them off, as they say, and got back on the bike and drove away.”
The 19-year-old was in critical condition when he arrived at Albany Medical Center Hospital on April 27. Jim thanked the medical team at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), the Ronald McDonald House, and local law officers for accommodating his family while Alexa was in the hospital.
A GoFundMe page called “UAlbany Alexa Kropf Hit and Run” has been established to aid Kropf’s rehabilitation.
On May 2, the Albany County Sheriff’s Department reportedly conducted an unlawful, filthy bike detail in Albany, seizing ten illegal bikes. They also issued 21 traffic violations and arrested two people for aggravated unlicensed operation, according to News 10. The presence of unauthorized or unlicensed bikes and mopeds has recently been a concern for large cities, including New York City and Washington, D.C.
Police are requesting that anyone with information about the hit-and-run contact the Albany Police Traffic and Safety Division at (518) 458-5628.
