Nebraska setter Lauren Cook arrested after car accident

[INFORMATION IN THIS REPORT HAS BEEN UPDATED]


Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook answered questions at a news conference today about the arrest of his daughter, Lauren Cook, on Sunday. Lauren Cook is the starting setter for John Cook's team.

Lauren Cook
[Lincoln Police Dept./AP]

According to a report in today's Omaha World-Herald, Lauren Cook was driving her parents' car at noon on Sunday when she allegedly hit two motorcyclists on the side of the road and then fled the scene. The newspaper says Cook drove several blocks, then called police. The World-Herald says Cook told police she "just panicked" after the incident.

The newspaper reports that Cook was driving with a suspended license, and that she has been found guilty of four traffic violations since 2007.

According to the World-Herald:

John Cook, her father and head coach of the top-ranked volleyball team, said Monday that his daughter remains on the team, but he would not address her status for this weekend's matches against Michigan and Michigan State. He said he had been in contact with Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne about athletic department procedures on dealing with arrests.

The motorcyclists were reported to have minor injuries.

[THANKS TO TERRY WOOD FOR THE HEADS-UP ON THIS BREAKING NEWS]

UPDATE: According to a report in the Lincoln Journal Star, the injuries to one of the motorcyclists was more than "minor." Lincoln police say one accident victim apparently suffered a broken leg:

According to a Lincoln police report, Cook was driving west on Humphrey Avenue near North 14th Street when she collided with a Honda motorcycle that was parked on the edge of the street around noon Sunday. 

Witness William Umana, 23, was driving east on Humphrey Avenue when he saw the black Toyota 4Runner hit the motorcycle. He said he saw the driver of the SUV as she continued to head west on Humphrey Avenue. Umana said she appeared to be panicking as she drove away. 

"She looked at me, and was freaked out," he said. 

Umana said he helped tend to the driver of the motorcycle, Nathaniel Kollars, 30. Lincoln police said Kollars suffered a broken leg. A passenger on the motorcycle was treated for abrasions. 

Cook drove about half a mile away, and, after calling her mother, called police, according to a probable cause affidavit for her arrest. Officer Katie Flood said Cook called at 11:59 a.m., six minutes after police first received word of the crash. An officer found her alone in the 2007 4Runner, its front right tire shredded, according to the affidavit.