Lex18 and the night Molly Svoboda was struck: a call for help ends in critical injuries
lex18 traces the last clear moments Kenny Schomp remembers from March 7: a game on TV in Lexington, a short drive toward home, and then a frantic break in the evening that ended with Molly Svoboda in critical condition at the University of Kentucky Hospital after she was struck by a Jessamine County Sheriff’s deputy’s vehicle in Nicholasville.
What happened on Wind Haven Drive in Nicholasville?
Schomp, Svoboda’s boyfriend, said the couple’s evening began at the Manchester Hotel in Lexington, where they watched the UK-Florida game. He said Svoboda became ill afterward, and rather than going out to dinner, they headed home.
Schomp said that around 7: 30 p. m. (ET), while turning onto Wind Haven Drive in Nicholasville, Svoboda got sick in his vehicle and insisted on walking home instead. He said he let her out in front of nearby businesses after she assured him she felt better walking the half mile home rather than riding in the car.
Nicholasville Police said dispatch received a call before 8: 15 p. m. (ET) to check on a woman who appeared to need help near Windhaven Drive. Police said a Jessamine County deputy responded to the call, pulled into several office parking lots looking for her, and then ran over Svoboda as she was lying on the ground.
Police said the deputy called for help and attempted first aid. Svoboda was transported to the University of Kentucky Hospital by Jessamine County EMS. Nicholasville Police said the incident is being investigated as a serious injury collision.
How do the deputy’s account and Schomp’s questions collide?
Late Monday, Svoboda’s family provided a copy of a collision report from Nicholasville Police. In that report, officers responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian collision on Wind Haven Drive.
The deputy, identified in the report as the Unit 1 operator, said he was eastbound on Wind Haven Drive and turned right into the parking lot of 105 Wind Haven Drive. The deputy said that when entering the parking lot near the entrance, he felt something hit his vehicle, then observed a pedestrian lying on the blacktop at the entrance to the parking lot. The deputy stated that due to the downhill slope of the entrance, he was unable to see the pedestrian lying on the ground.
Schomp said he questions why the deputy did not see Svoboda. He also said a doctor stated her injuries indicate she may have been hit while standing up, not lying down—an apparent conflict with the deputy’s account in the collision report. Schomp said Svoboda was struck in the area of a driveway near the sidewalk.
One more detail anchors the timeline: on March 7, the sun set at 6: 38 p. m. (ET), and it was completely dark after 7: 30 p. m. (ET).
What authorities are doing now—and what remains unknown
Nicholasville Police have said the case is under investigation as a serious injury collision. The collision report provided by Svoboda’s family lays out the deputy’s description of turning into the parking lot entrance and the claim that the slope limited his view of a pedestrian on the ground.
For information from the Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office, inquiries were directed to the Nicholasville Police Department.
In the middle of the official process, the human questions persist—especially the ones raised by Schomp about visibility and the conflicting descriptions of Svoboda’s position at the moment she was struck. As the investigation continues, lex18 will be watching for clarity on how the collision occurred, what evidence resolves the differing accounts, and what it will mean for the people closest to Svoboda as she remains in critical condition.
