OXFORD, Miss — A Mississippi family and the greater Ole Miss family are grieving after one student was killed and another student injured in what Oxford police said was a hit-and-run early Sunday morning behind Oxford City Hall.
Walker Fielder, a junior who had turned 21 just hours before, died after authorities said he was struck by a truck near the square after 1 a.m.
Another student, Blanche Williamson, is being treated at Regional One Medical Center in Memphis.
Oxford police said two suspects, Seth Rokitka, 24, and Tristan Holland, 18, are now in custody.
Rokitka faces manslaughter, aggravated DUI and other chargers and a Lafayette County judge set his bond at $1 million Monday afternoon. Holland is being held in the Shelby County Jail facing extradition.
Those who knew Walker Fielder for years said the junior was a man of faith but also always had a smile on his face and never met a stranger. Monday, Fielder's friends and family mourned the loss and tried to make sense with the sudden and unexpected death of a student well-liked on campus.
"He was loyal, he was compassionate, you know, just an all-around great guy," Barry Burks, a Fielder family spokesperson, said. "It just doesn't get any more difficult than that. He had a full life ahead of him and he was full of life, so, you know, just to be cut short, it doesn't get any more tragic than that."
Fielder served as a rush leader in the Sigma Chi fraternity, where members put up black ribbons in the junior's honor Monday but were too shaken up to go on camera.
Monday, Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn Boyce released a statement that read in part: "What had been a beautiful fall Saturday in Oxford ended with a horrendous event that took the life of one of our students, Walker Fielder, a widely liked member of our campus community. Please keep (Fielder's family) close in your thoughts and prayers during this time of immense grief. The two suspects who are not affiliated with our university are now in custody."
Boyce said counseling and other services are available on campus for any students and staff who need them.
A visitation for Fielder will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church at 6000 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi. The funeral service will follow at 2 p.m.
Oxford police also said Monday afternoon the two suspects in custody didn't cross paths and were at separate places from both Ole Miss students before they were hit by a truck and that the suspects didn't render aid or call 911 after striking the students.