A junior at Columbia University is in critical condition after a hit-and-run accident early Sunday morning at the same intersection where Italian jazz singer Daniela D'Ercole was struck and killed by a driver while crossing the street. Witnesses say Peyton Bell, an economics and philosophy major, was hit by a gray Mercedes-Benz while jaywalking across Broadway at 106th Street around 1:20 a.m. Police sources tell the Post that Bell, 20, had just exited a cab and the Columbia Spectator reports that the driver had the green light.
The driver kept going, leaving Bell for dead. He was rushed to St. Luke's hospital in critical condition. Bell has been a star player on the university's rugby team, and coach Hayden James tells the Post, “He’s a good kid and one of my best players. He’s an unbelievable kid."
