BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A woman accused of hitting and killing an LSU student and her fiancé as they walked along Nicholson Drive was given a $229,000 bond with house arrest during a court appearance Monday, Oct. 19.
Mia Dawson, 20, faces multiple charges, including vehicular homicide and operating while impaired, in connection with the crash that killed 21-year-old Leah Victoria Fonte and her fiancé, 21-year-old Shane David Hirstius.
Dawson’s next bond review is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Mia Dawson(East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office)
According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, Dawson was driving a 2016 Nissan Rogue southbound around 2:40 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, when she veered off the road in the 5000 block of Nicholson Drive and struck the couple as they walked along the right shoulder.
Fonte died at the scene. Hirstius was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Police said officers located Dawson shortly after the crash in the 1900 block of Nicholson Drive.
She was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of:
Vehicular homicideOperating while impairedHit-and-run drivingReckless operation of a vehicleVehicular negligent injuring
RELATED: Couple killed by allegedly impaired driver near LSU together since high school, families say
LSU student, fiancé killed after being struck by vehicle on Nicholson Drive; driver arrested
Victims remembered as LSU student, firefighter
Fonte was a senior at LSU studying biological sciences on a pre-dental track, according to the Third District Volunteer Fire Department.
Hirstius served as an operator and firefighter with the department, which remembered him as a dedicated first responder.
The fire department said the couple had been celebrating a friend’s birthday before the crash.
Leah Fonte and Shane Hirstius(Instagram: @leah._.fonte & @shane.hirstius)Officials call for pedestrian safety improvements
The deaths have prompted renewed calls for improvements along Nicholson Drive, where pedestrian safety has been a longstanding concern.
Mayor-President Sid Edwards said a project already underway includes a new 10-foot-wide shared-use path along the east side of Nicholson Drive between Brightside Drive and Gourrier Avenue, additional lighting and improved pedestrian crossings at Gourrier Avenue and Bob Pettit Boulevard.
Edwards said the city’s Transportation and Drainage Department plans to meet with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to discuss additional safety measures that could be implemented before construction is complete.
Leah Victoria Fonte, 21, and her fiancé, Shane David Hirstius, 21, were killed after being struck by a vehicle while walking along Nicholson Drive in Baton Rouge on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.(WAFB)
Gov. Jeff Landry also called for action following the deaths.
“I am sick of seeing students and others killed while walking along Nicholson Drive at night,” Landry said in a statement.
Landry said he would work with state transportation officials, Baton Rouge leaders and LSU to explore ways to protect pedestrians.
“Enough is enough,” Landry said.
The crash remains under investigation.
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