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Hernando Today

Student Shoots, Kills Himself

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By TONY MARRERO Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 7, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - A Central High School senior suspected of hitting a woman with his car Thursday night near Hexam Road shot and killed himself when authorities in Levy County pulled him over, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The woman, 21-year-old Alicia Anderson of Boston, Mass., was flown to Tampa General Hospital, where she remained in serious condition Friday.

Andrew Altringer, 18, was driving east on Meinert Avenue at about 10 p.m. when the 2008 Mazda he was driving left the roadway and struck Anderson, who was walking in the same direction, an FHP report states.

Altringer had a passenger in the car, 17-year-old Kyle Case of Brooksville, according to the report. Altringer did not stop or call for help, FHP said.

Shortly after 11 p.m., the Mazda was clocked traveling at 80 mph in a 45 mph zone in Inglis, according to a report from the Levy County Sheriff's Office. Altringer stopped when Levy County deputies and Inglis police officers attempted to pull him over. As officers approached the Mazda they heard "a loud gun shot," the report states.

Officers found Altringer suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was taken to Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center in Crystal River, where he was pronounced dead.

Altringer was a member of the National Guard's 690th Military Police Co. based in Crystal River, according to the Levy County report.

Altringer was an honor student who had attended boot camp last year and planned to enter the Army after graduation, said Dennis McGeehan, Central's principal.

Altringer had recently joined Central's ROTC program and was an officer in the school's DECA chapter, a business education program, McGeehan said. He didn't have a single disciplinary blemish in his record and was popular among his classmates, he said.

"A good young man," McGeehan said. "Our hearts go out to all the families that have been touched by this."
Hernando County schools were closed Friday for a staff training day, but crisis counselors had already spoken to some students by phone on Friday afternoon, McGeehan said. He said the counselors will also be ready to see students when they return to class next week.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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