Updated: NU Volleyball player Cook charged in injury accident

By: Kelly Sommariva
ksommariva@klkntv.com

“I hope that one day people will accept my apology and be able to trust me again both as a person, as a student athlete and as a driver,” Lauren Cook said.

Nebraska volleyball star Lauren Cook addresses the public for the first time since her arrest for a hit and run accident.  Tuesday, 20-year-old Lauren Cook was officially charged with a felony – leaving the scene of an injury accident. But her attorney says he expects that charge to be dropped by the end of the week.

Alongside her father and coach, Athletic Director Tom Osborne and her attorney, Lauren Cook took responsibility for her actions and says she wants to help others learn from her mistakes. Through the county's pre-trial diversion program, Lauren Cook's attorney Terry Dougherty says by the end of this week, the UNL volleyball setter could be back to a clean record.

Cook was arrested Sunday, October 30..after making a 911 call.

“I was driving and a motorcyclist stopped in my neighborhood and I kind of side swiped him and I freaked out so I kept driving,” Cook said.

The motorcyclist suffered a broken leg and Cook was taken into custody.  “I express my hope that the motorcyclist and his passenger have a very complete and speedy recovery,” Cook said.

Lauren spoke publicly for the first time after her short arraignment in Lancaster County Court. She's faces a felony charge of leaving an injury accident. But her attorney says, like many people, because this is her first offense, she's eligible for pre-trial diversion.

“She understands what is required of her and she is sorry for what has happened and she welcomes the opportunity to go into pre-trial diversion so she can prove over a period of time that she is now a changed person,” Dougherty said.

More than 2,000 first time offenders in Lancaster County take the option each year. Once accepted, the charge against her will be dropped.  Lauren has agreed not to drive while in diversion. And says she wants to educate kids through community service. If she has any run-ins with the law, she'll be taken out of diversion and charged once again.

Her lawyer says at the time of the accident, she was driving on a suspended license. Because of several speeding tickets, something her parent's didn't know about.  He says she has worked with the DMV to get her license back.  

“This has been a defining moment in my life and I'm going to use this experience and my time in diversion to become a better person and a better driver, and going on with my life. And make changes,” Cook said.

Cook's attorney says she should be accepted into pretrial diversion within the next day or two, which means charges against her will be dropped. The program could take up to a year. Lauren is due back in court on November 28th.

So what's next for Cook and when will she be playing again for the NU volleyball team? She sat out of last weekend's matches because the investigation was ongoing.  But Athletic Director Tom Osborne says they expect her charges to be dropped if she's accepted into a pre-trial diversion program. If that happens, she'll most likely be back on the court this weekend.  

“We've looked at the University statutes and regulation and we feel no student at the University who has taken the steps Lauren has taken would be disallowed to participate in extracurricular activities,” Osborne said.

Osborne says the decision to allow Lauren to play again, was not left up to coach Cook. Osborne says he and Chancellor Harvey Perlman made the call.