ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Lee County Sheriff's Department in Florida has released the report of the motor vehicle accident in which Cornell University President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes was injured Feb. 3.

According to the report, Rhodes was walking across a street at approximately 7:55 a.m. when he was struck by a motor vehicle. The driver left the scene of the accident, but a witness was able to describe the vehicle and give the license plate number to sheriff's deputies when they arrived at the scene. At 8:04 a.m., a Lee County sheriff's deputy put out an alert on the vehicle, which was described as a gray 1988 Ford van.

At 8:23 a.m., an officer in the sheriff's department observed the suspect vehicle and pulled it over. Jose Suarez, 22, of Bonita Springs, Fla., was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license and failure to yield right of way to a pedestrian. Two passengers in the van gave statements and were not charged.

Cornell officials report that Rhodes is continuing to respond well to treatment in a hospital in Naples, Fla.

-30-