The 22-year-old driver of the vehicle that struck and killed Frank Petillo, Jr. on the UMass Dartmouth campus in April has officially been charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, after the Bristol County District Attorney’s office cited the student in September.

Danasia Sampson, from Mattapan, will be arraigned on the charge in New Bedford District Court on Nov. 7. According to police records obtained by Dartmouth Week, Sampson was driving 56 miles per hour at the time of the accident. The speed limit on Ring Road is 25 miles per hour. 

Petillo was struck by the vehicle on campus on April 6. He was found lying on Ring Road with significant injuries and was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to police records, Sampson told the interviewing officer that she had thought she lost her debit card, and was traveling back to her dorm room to look for it. When she saw Petillo and the friend he was walking with, she swerved out of the way, but Petillo ran in the same direction, according to the record. 

The fatality was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office along with the CARS Unit of the Massachusetts State Police. Due to the nature of the alleged crime, the defendant had a right to a clerk magistrate hearing at New Bedford District Court before an official criminal charge could issue, according to the district attorney’s office. That hearing was held Oct. 19, at which point the clerk magistrate determined probable cause did exist to formally charge the defendant.

After the initial incident, students called for increased safety measures on Ring Road, which circles the UMass Dartmouth campus. Chancellor Mark Fuller promised changes shortly afterwards. Since then, campus police said they have added 10 speed bumps, more speed signage, additional patrol calls and raised crosswalks. Temporary concrete barriers were also installed to protect sidewalks.