A New York State man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to four counts stemming from an alleged motorcycle hit-and-run that left a University of Albany student in a coma in April.
Austin Breyette, 25, of Watervliet, is suspected of hitting Alexa Kropf, 19, with what police previously described as a “illegal dirt bike” on the evening of April 26 while she was out with friends.
Breyette now faces one charge of second-degree assault, one count of failing to report an incident, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. According to an indictment acquired by NEWS 10 ABC/FOX 23 Albany, Breyette attempted to conceal evidence, which included a blue dirt bike and a red Porsche.
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“We are relieved and grateful to the Albany Police Department for their swift and diligent efforts in apprehending the individual responsible for the hit-and-run incident involving our daughter,” Alexa’s father, Jim Kopf, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We were confident in the Albany Police Department’s capacity to bring the predator to justice from the minute the incident occurred. We can’t thank them enough for their tireless pursuit of justice.
Kropf’s father reported that she had two brain surgeries to remove hemorrhage and swelling. He earlier told Fox News Digital that she sustained two fractured bones in her lower right leg, pelvic fractures, five broken ribs, and bruised lungs. She had 50 staples placed in her skull and more in her leg.
Alexa spent 27 days at Albany Medical Center and is now recovering in a rehabilitation center near her home.
“Every fractured bone is healing. “She continues to be more alert every day,” Kropf said in an update on her daughter’s status. “He has been able to sit up in bed and in a chair. There are no weight-bearing activities at this time, therefore [she] is currently wheelchair-bound. [She] is aware of her surroundings, but has trouble expressing herself vocally at times.”
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“Words and sentences don’t always make sense, which is troubling to see,” Kropf went on to say. According to Albany police, the hit-and-run suspect was “driving an illegal dirt bike at a high rate of speed while weaving in and out of groups of people in the roadway” on the 400 block of Hudson Avenue when he collided with Kropf.
“While driving at a high rate of speed, the suspect struck the victim and caused her to be thrown in the air, and land in the roadway several feet away from the initial impact,” according to police.
Alexa had been out with friends on Saturday night when the dirt biker hit her on a one-way street.
Breyette is being held at the Albany County Jail on $100,000 cash bail, $100,000 bond, or $200,000 partially secured bond, according to the district attorney’s office. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.