Driver of Pickup in Fatal Hit-and-Run Charged With Manslaughter

The driver of the pickup that ran into two Ole Miss students Sunday, killing one and injuring the other, has been charged with several felonies, including manslaughter.

Seth Rokitka, 24, of Collierville was arrested Monday morning and taken before a Justice Court judge Monday afternoon where he was formally charged with one count of manslaughter in the death of Ole Miss student Walker Allen Fielder, 21, of Madison.

He was also charged with one count of aggravated DUI for causing injury to Blanche Williamson, of Raleigh, North Carolina, and one count of Duties of Driver Involved in an Accident Resulting in Personal Injury, for leaving the scene.

His bond was set at $1 million.

Tristan Holland, 18 of Collierville, was charged with accessory after the fact and is still at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Jail. There is no timeline for extradition as of now, according to the Oxford Police Department.

Fielder and Williamson were struck by Rokitka’s vehicle at about 1 a.m. Sunday behind City Hall. Rokitka and his passenger, Holland, left the scene.

Both were transported to the hospital in Oxford where Fielder died from his injuries. Williamson was transported to a hospital in Memphis where she is in stable condition, according to OPD.

After news of the incident started to spread on social media, rumors spread even faster. The OPD addressed several rumors in a press release, including one about Fielder, Rokitka and Holland being involved in an altercation prior to Fielder and Williamson being struck by the vehicle.

According to OPD:

• Rokitka and Holland had no prior interactions with either victim prior to striking them with the truck.

• There were no fights or altercations and their paths did not cross. They were at separate establishments the entire night.

• Rokitka and Holland did not render aid or call 911 even though they knew what they had just done.

Staff report