Editor’s Note: Since the print version of this story was published, Mia Pace has been transferred from the Intensive Care Unit to the Orthopedic Trauma wing, where she will remain until she transitions to a rehabilitation facility.

A driver struck a 19-year-old woman on Ranch Road 12 as she was on her way to a Sigma Chi Halloween party on Oct. 31, leaving her in critical condition.

At around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, Mia Pace and eight friends parked their car and began walking toward the Sigma Chi fraternity house. As four of the eight friends crossed the road to reach the house, a car struck Mia, according to her sister, Liana Pace. Neither Mia nor the driver is affiliated with Texas State University or Sigma Chi, however, Mia was in San Marcos visiting her friend, who is a Texas State student, for Halloween weekend.

“We arrived and saw a female being loaded into an ambulance. We know that she was in the street and hit by a vehicle,” Hays County Sheriff Lt. Clint Pulpan wrote in an email to The Star.

Liana said the car did not run Mia over, nor did she roll over the windshield. Although the speed limit on Ranch Road 12 is 60 mph, it’s unclear how fast the driver was going when they struck Mia.

As a result of the brute force, however, Liana said Mia broke both her legs, her left arm, back and nose. Mia also has a ruptured bladder, lacerated spleen and liver and a concussion. She has been in the Intensive Care Unit since Oct. 31.

Pulpan wrote the sheriff’s office does not work any wrecks with death or serious bodily injury so the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is investigating the case. The Star reached out to DPS but has yet to hear a response.

“When I walked into the hospital room and saw her for the first time it was really scary because she’s unconscious, she had a mouth tube in she looked pretty terrible and beat up and I was just in there standing by her… I just remember seeing her and automatically started crying,” Liana said.

Emergency Medical Services, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office and DPS arrived on-scene minutes after Mia was hit and closed off Ranch Road 12 for approximately two hours until 12:45 a.m. when officers cleared the scene, according to President of Sigma Chi Lance Stonebreaker.

“Me, my risk manager and four cops were out there at all times directing traffic for the next three and a half hours after that,” Stonebreaker said.

The Sigma Chi party was a registered social event with Texas State. That means the university was aware of the party and members of the fraternity must undergo risk management training in preparation.

Stonebreaker said they hired security to patrol the party on Oct. 31.

“We have security guards that we hire every party that makes sure no one’s leaving our property on foot, and they have to be in an Uber and they have to be behind our gates as well,” Stonebreaker said.

Mia’s recovery is progressing well, Liana said. Though Mia couldn’t speak for the first two days after the accident and hasn’t yet walked, she’s on track to regain her mobility.

“She stood up and she was moving her leg, which is very good, but she said she was in a lot of pain, but I’m just proud of her for getting up,” Liana said.

Liana has launched a GoFundMe to help her family pay for Mia’s medical bills, which includes the surgeries, rehab and physical therapy.