UNC tennis star charged with DWI, hitting two pedestrians

Chapel Hill, N.C. — A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill star tennis player has been charged with drunken driving in a wreck that hospitalized two fellow students early Sunday.

Police said Chris Kearney, 20, veered off the road in the 200 block of North Columbia Street shortly before 2:30 a.m. His vehicle hit a wall and then struck two women walking on the sidewalk.

The two women were taken to the hospital and had serious but non-life-threatening injuries, UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour said.

"We're very concerned about the two students who were injured. That is our focus right now," Baddour said. "Our prayers are with them and their families right now."

Police charged Kearney with two counts of inflicting personal injury, felony hit-and-run causing personal injury and possessing a fake ID, along with one count each of driving while impaired and consuming alcohol under the age of 21.

He was being held in the Orange County Jail under a secured $50,000 bond on Sunday evening. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday.

Kearney, of Irvine, Calif., was the Atlantic Coast Conference 2007 Freshman Player of the Year. He ranks second on the team for singles and doubles victories and was ranked third nationally among doubles players in fall 2007.