Police: Bulgarian Ballerina Dies After Broad Street Hit-Run
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police say a young ballet student, struck by a hit and run driver early Sunday morning, has died.
Staff members at the world-renowned Rock School of Ballet on South Broad Street have identified the victim as 22-year-old Polina Kadiyska, a student from Bulgaria, who played the dew drop fairy in the school's production of the Nutcracker last Christmas.
Police say she was crossing Broad Street, in a marked crosswalk, with a green light, about 4 a.m., when a teenage driver ran a red light and struck her, then struck three parked cars. They say he and his passenger then abandoned the car -- a green Audi -- and fled, but were arrested a short time when they returned to get some things out of the car.
Police identify the driver as 19-year-old Deandre Barnes of South Philadelphia. He's been charged with driving under the influence and aggravated assault and is likely to face more serious charges now that Kadiyska has died.
