19-year-old charged in death of Jacksonville State student Leah Tarvin who was struck by vehicle near campus
A young woman has been charged in the 2022 death of a Jacksonville State University student who was fatally struck in a crosswalk near campus.
The Jacksonville Police Department on Thursday announced the arrest of 19-year-old Olivia Lowrey of Gadsden. She is charged with criminally negligent homicide in the Nov. 2 death of 22-year-old Leah Grace Tarvin.
Lowrey was arrested Wednesday on the Class A misdemeanor and booked into the Jacksonville City Jail. She has since been released on bond and has a court date set for Aug. 1.
Police said they conducted an intensive investigation, including the review of cell phone data, vehicle data, surveillance camera footage, multiple eyewitness interviews and consultation with experts in the field of GPS data.
Tarvin was struck at 5:54 p.m. that Wednesday in a crosswalk on Highway 21 near Brewer Hall. She was treated on scene by Jacksonville Fire and EMS medics and then airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
Authorities have not said what actions led to the criminal charges against Lowrey.
Tarvin’s family has also filed a civil lawsuit against Lowrey.
Tarvin, 22, was from Cullman County. She graduated from Holly Pond High School and then attended Wallace State. She was studying forensic investigations at JSU.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Calhoun-Cleburne Major Crimes Unit, the Oxford Police Department and the Jacksonville State University Police Department assisted in the investigation.