A murder charge has been filed in the hit-and-run death of a Hoover High student in October. Google Street View photo

A Fresno State graduate teaching assistant has been charged with murder in the hit-and-run death of a Hoover High School student a couple of months ago.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s office announced Friday that it has filed charges against Fresno resident Lisa Ellen Spoors, 39, related to the incident where the student was struck and killed by a vehicle in front of the school in the evening of Oct. 4.

 

The delay in arresting Spoors proved controversial for the student’s family and on social media. The student’s mother named Spoors, a teaching assistant in the Fresno State art department, as the driver during the Oct. 20 Fresno City Council meeting, reported the campus newspaper The Collegian. 

The student has been identified in media reports as Rashad Al-Hakim Jr.

The Collegian reported in October that Spoors was placed on investigatory leave pending a review by the University.

District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp alleges that Spoors was driving northbound on First Street when she struck the 15-year-old boy. Spoors then left the scene of the crash, returning to the area about 20 minutes later, Smittcamp alleges. Spoors’ toxicology report at the time of the incident indicate “she had a combination of illicit and prescription substances in her system,” according to a release Thursday.

The charges include one count of murder, one count of driving under the influence of a drug causing great bodily injury and failure to perform a duty following a collision causing death, according to the release.

In 2008, Spoors was convicted in Fresno County Superior Court for driving under the influence, according to Smittcamp, who added that Spoors was advised during that case that a murder charge was possible if her impaired driving resulted in the loss of life.