Husker volleyball player Cook arrested in hit-and-run incident

Lincoln Police arrested junior Husker volleyball player Lauren Cook Sunday at about noon on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident. Cook was also cited for driving on a suspended license, according to Katie Flood, a public information officer with Lincoln Police.

Motorcyclist Nathaniel Kollars, 30, of Lincoln, and his passenger Sharon Stratman, 54, of Yankton, S.D., pulled over to the side of the road when a black SUV hit them at 11:51 a.m., according to the police report. The man and two witnesses said they saw the vehicle head westbound on Humphrey Avenue, away from the accident. According to the police report, witnesses said Cook seemed visibly distressed but made no attempt to stop.

Kollars suffered a broken leg, and both he and his passenger were taken to BryanLGH Medical Center West in Lincoln, according to the accident report.

About eight minutes later, Cook called police dispatch to inform officers of the accident and waited for their arrival a half-mile north of the 14th Street and Alvo Road intersection, Flood said.

There were no drugs or alcohol involved in the crash, according to the police report.

Cook's front tire was shredded, and it would have been difficult for her to drive further from where she was parked, said David Beggs of Lincoln Police.

Cook's license was suspended due to several previous speeding citations, Flood said.

Leaving the scene of an injury is a Class 3A felony, carrying a maximum punishment of five years in prison or a $10,000 fine.

Cook was released on 10 percent of a $5,000 bond after being detained by Lancaster County Corrections between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

As of 4 p.m. Monday afternoon prosecutors had not decided whether to charge Cook with the felony count or a misdemeanor charge. The plan is to make that decision by her court date Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.

Driving on a suspended license is a misdemeanor and is not generally punishable by jail time, but is a separate offense from the felony count. Cook could be charged on both, according to the Lancaster County Attorney's office.

Volleyball coach John Cook, Lauren's father, commented on the situation during his weekly press conference Monday morning.

"It's days like this that I wish my kid was a sorority girl," coach Cook said. "And this probably wouldn't be a big deal."

But despite the attention, the volleyball program will continue to run as it did before. Lauren Cook will remain a Husker, and she attended class and team workouts Monday, he said.

"We're working through with how we're going to resolve that," John Cook said when asked if Lauren will play. "We have procedures in place and we have ways we'll deal with that, and it depends how fast we can get through all that."

According to her father, Lauren Cook was on her way to get treatment at Memorial Stadium around 11:45 a.m. Sunday. This was after the team's 3 a.m. arrival to Lincoln after Nebraska lost its match against Penn State in University Park, Pa.

And even though it's his daughter, John Cook iterated that this was a normal situation and that it "wasn't the first time something like this has happened and probably not the last."

He said he's handling the situation like he would for any member of the Nebraska volleyball squad.

"This is one of our players," John Cook said. "It doesn't matter if it's Lauren or any one of our other players — it's part of coaching. Probably (at) 95 percent of volleyball programs, we wouldn't be talking about this."

John Cook refused to talk about the legal process, however. Lauren Cook's court date scheduled for today was pushed back, according to the prosecutor's office.

But whether the junior setter will get jail time is still up in the air.