Following an agreement between prosecutors and the defense, a Centre County judge on Wednesday set straight bail at $3 million for a suspended Penn State student charged with vehicular homicide, according to court officials.
Ahmed M. Alqubaisi, 20, of United Arab Emirates, will also be required to surrender his passport and visa. If he posts bail, he will not be released until he is fitted with a GPS device, and he is not permitted to leave Centre County or operate a motor vehicle.
The bail hearing was held before Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine on Wednesday afternoon at the courthouse in Bellefonte.
Alqubaisi was arrested following a Sept. 12 crash on the 200 block of East Park Avenue in State College that killed 25-year-old Penn State graduate student Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre, of Sweden.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by State College police, Alqubaisi was driving at an unsafe speed in the westbound lane at about 8 p.m. when he lost control of his 2024 BMW M3.
Alqubaisi crossed into the eastbound traffic lane and onto the sidewalk, where he hit Arnesson-Cronhamre, who was jogging at the time.
The impact of the crash threw Arnesson-Cronhamre about 80 feet. She was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and then flown to UPMC-Altoona, where she died from her injuries at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 12. A doctoral student from Sweden who was studying architectural engineering, Arnesson-Cronhamre suffered a brain bleed, broken neck, shattered right arm and broken left foot.
Alqubaisi, according to the affidavit, had a learner’s permit and did not have a licensed driver in the vehicle with him at the time of the crash.
Police wrote that he was driving at “a higher rate of speed than would be deemed safe in that area,” in the rain on a wet road adjacent to the University Park campus.
Surveillance video footage showed Alqubaisi’s car enter “an uncontrolled state” as he neared the area where Arnesson-Cronhamre was jogging, according to the affidavit. Alqubaisi made a sudden turn into the opposing eastbound lane, went over the curb, struck a standpipe and knocked down a light pole.
Arnesson-Cronhamre was then hit by the passenger door side of the car, which subsequently struck a tree and rotated 360 degrees before coming to rest.
The Centre County Crash Reconstruction Team determined that Alqubaisi’s speed based on weather and road conditions was an important factor in the crash, which occurred in an area with heavier vehicle and pedestrian traffic because of its proximity to the Penn State campus. Investigators also noted Alqubaisi’s limited driving experience.
Police said neither drugs nor alcohol were believed to be a factor in the crash.
Because Alqubaisi is suspended from the university and has no other ties to Pennsylvania, the investigating detective wrote in the affidavit that he posed a flight risk. District Judge Gregory Koehle denied bail at a preliminary arraignment on Sept. 14 and Alqubaisi has been detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility since then.
In addition to felony homicide by vehicle, Alqubaisi is charged with misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person, as well as summary offenses of careless driving causing unintentional death and driving at an unsafe speed.
It was not immediately clear if or when Alqubaisi might post bail.
