A 23-year-old Lawrence man was formally charged this afternoon in a hit-and-run wreck that killed a pedestrian early Saturday on West Sixth Street.

In a hearing in District Court, prosecutors charged Adan S. Cruz with involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and leaving the scene of an injury accident. Cruz, who spoke through a Spanish-language interpreter, appeared before Judge Pro Tem Peggy Kittel by closed-circuit television from the Douglas County Jail.

Olathe woman killed by car (4-10-05) Woman killed in hit and run (4-10-05)

Kittel appointed a Spanish-speaking attorney and set Cruz’s bond at $75,000.

Cruz is charged with driving the 1996 Ford Probe that struck and killed Jodie Hatzenbihler, 25, Olathe, shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday. Hatzenbihler had just left Cadillac Ranch, 2515 W. Sixth St., and was crossing Sixth Street with friends.

“They were going across the street to where they had parked,” said Sgt. Dan Ward, a Lawrence Police spokesman. “She was with a group of individuals, and she was the last one” in the road.

Hatzenbihler had worked for the past year as a registered nurse in the cardiac unit at University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan.

“She was bright and brilliant. She was one of the best we had ever had,” said Beth Clark, Hatzenbihler’s supervisor at the hospital.

Ward said police found Cruz at his home in the 500 block of Frontier Road after several witnesses gave a description of the car and officers searched the area. He was arrested after an interview with detectives.

Police are still waiting for lab results from both Cruz and Hatzenbihler and are looking into unanswered questions, including whether Cruz was speeding.

“We’re still investigating,” he said. “We have quite a few witnesses we need to re-interview.”

It’s at least the second time in the past five months a pedestrian has been struck while trying to cross the same stretch of Sixth Street.

On Nov. 19, 2004, a Baker University student was walking across Sixth Street in the same block and was struck by a car. Blake Pearson, 23, of Valley Center, was critically injured and flown to University of Kansas Hospital. That accident also happened about 2 a.m.

Also, on Nov. 20, 2004, Matt Thompson, 23, was killed in the same block of Sixth Street when his motorcycle was struck by a pickup truck.

For more on this story, see the 6News reports at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband’s channel 6 and pick up a copy of Tuesday’s Journal-World