The Greek community at the University of Houston is mourning a fraternity man and praying for his girlfriend, a sorority woman, after a tragic accident late last week.
Mark Tartaglio, a member of Kappa Alpha, and his girlfriend Corina Burnett, a Chi Omega, were hit from behind by a drunk driver just after midnight on Thursday. The couple was walking home from a date party. They were just feet away from the Chi Omega sorority house on the university’s Greek Row when they were hit. Tartaglio died from his injuries on Saturday; Burnett is currently in stable condition.
Unfortunately, the person responsible for the accident is also a member of the community. Marshall Patrick Schoen is a member of Pi Kappa Phi; he has been arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. According to KHOU, “Police believe Schoen was speeding in a large pickup truck when he went into the opposing lanes of traffic to get around an Infiniti car that was making a turn,” instead clipped the turning car. News reports are conflicting as to whether Schoen hit Tartaglio and Burnett directly, or if the Infiniti was pushed into the couple as a result of Schoen hitting it.
The Daily Mail reports “Schoen was wearing blue medical scrubs, possibly for a costume party, at the time of his arrest.” His bond has been set at $30,000 and the charges will likely be upgraded to include intoxication manslaughter charges as a result of Tartaglio’s death. He remained in custody as of Sunday evening.
Friends of the couple have set up a GoFundMe page to assist with medical costs.
From GoFundMe:
“All those that know Mark and Corina know that they are some of the kindest, most caring people you’ll ever meet, and in anyone’s time of need they are always just a phone call away.
Mark and Corina need our love and support now, and the very least we could do is to help lift some of the stress off the shoulders of their families, I can only hope this helps alleviate some of their worries in their time of need.”
Our thoughts are with the UH Greek community right now, and we hope Corina makes a quick and speedy recovery. .
[via The Daily Mail/KHOU]
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, and documenting her love of all things cheese related. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
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