HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — A fun night at a bar ended with a woman being seriously hurt in Westmoreland County.

She somehow ended up lying in the middle of a street and was run over by a car. Now, investigators have a lot of questions, including what happened in the moments leading up to the accident.

Laura Ligus rang in the New Year at Scooby’s in Hempfield Township; but about an hour and a half later, she was rushed to the hospital after being hit by a van on Route 119 outside of the bar.

“Someone came to the door and said someone was hit by a car,” said Daniel Mediate, the owner of Scooby’s. “Went outside to see what was going on, there was a girl lying out there and there was a woman that claimed she ran her over.”

Ligus was dressed in all black and lying in the road. The driver initially thought she had hit a garbage bag.

“Our preliminary investigation reports there was no gross negligence whatsoever,” said Trooper Steve Limani, of Pennsylvania State Police.

Police say the road was covered in ice that night, and Ligus was wearing high heels.

The investigation has been complicated by bystanders who began cleaning up from the crash before police arrived, making it difficult for them to reconstruct the accident.

“It was pretty chaotic. You know, a lot of people knew her, crying and that sort of thing,” said Mediate. “It was pretty upsetting, quite upsetting, as a matter a fact. Bad way to start the New Year.”

Police are hoping one of the many patrons leaving the bar that night will come forward with information about why Ligus was lying in the middle of the road.

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