Notre Dame graduate killed in Sunday morning hit-and-run near campus

Updated Oct. 18 at 4:43 p.m.

A 2014 Notre Dame graduate was killed in a hit-and-run on South Bend Avenue just outside of the Linebacker Lounge early Sunday, according to the South Bend Police Department.

Police said Hannah Turgeon, 27, was crossing the street around 2 a.m. when she was struck by an unknown vehicle.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office held a press conference Wednesday to discuss progress with the investigation and to ask for the public’s help in locating the driver.

Investigators believe Turgeon initially crossed the street for an Uber or Lyft, county prosecutor Ken Cotter said at the press conference.

After the crash, the vehicle turned left onto White Oak Drive and drove off.

Police were able to recover more information with the help of nine area cameras, Cotter said.

Both witness testimony and video indicate the suspect vehicle is a large, dark-colored SUV, similar to a Cadillac Escalade, he said.

Chief deputy prosecutor Eric Tamashasky said camera footage from Melissa Cook Stadium revealed an anomaly in the vehicle’s tail lights.

“This car appears to have a horizontal section of brake lights about where the bumper would be,” Tamashasky said. “Investigators believe, I think fair to say, that this is potentially an after-market addition to the car. So this isn’t a standard make-and-model configuration.”

He said the public should note the driver may remove the modification.

“Anyone that’s close [to the driver] may have seen this particular configuration and may even notice that it’s gone,” Tamashasky said.

Nearby cameras also helped police track the vehicle’s path away from the scene.

“We have a pretty good idea, with all the videos they put together, of where the car was initially coming from, when it comes out of Edison [Road], when it makes the turn onto South Bend Avenue,” Tamashasky said.

By Cotter’s estimation, nearly a dozen were close by when the crash took place. Anyone with information should contact the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Cotter said.

“We need your help,” he said. “So, if you know what had happened, if you were there — frankly, if you’re the person who was involved, we’re asking you to come forward.”

Investigators used surveillance footage from Sweeney Julian Trial Attorneys, located across the street, to estimate police arrived within two minutes of the crash.

“I was incredibly impressed with the South Bend Police Department’s response,” Cotter said.

Turgeon’s family is offering a $10,000 reward for information resulting in the arrest or indictment of the driver, Michiana Crime Stoppers announced Friday according to the South Bend Tribune.

Tips may be submitted online at michianacrimestoppers.org or by phone at 1-800-342-STOP or 574-288-STOP.

Turgeon, a former resident of McGlinn Hall, graduated from the University with a degree in art history in 2014.

Paul Turgeon, Hannah’s father and a 1981 Notre Dame graduate, said he and his daughter were in town for the USC game.