A starting midfielder on the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team was driving the car that crashed into the Mount Olympus stairwell Monday morning, DPS confirmed on Thursday.

Kelly Cross was the driver of the vehicle, the public information and internal communications officer for DPS, Hannah Warren, confirmed. Cross checked into Upstate University Hospital between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. on Monday, a receptionist said. Cross was treated and released the same day.

The cause of the crash is still unknown.

Cross drove a white Ford Explorer into the entrance of the Mount Olympus stairwell early Monday morning, snapping four support poles and sending a newspaper box flying about 25 feet before it crashed into a fence. The crash was reported at 2:27 a.m.

She is lucky to be alive, a DPS officer said Monday morning.

The damage has forced the stairs to be closed while construction personnel work to repair them. The stairs will re-open by Friday evening, the assistant resident director of Flint Hall said in an email to Mount residents Thursday.

The junior midfielder scored a hat trick in SU’s loss at Northwestern on March 22, the day before the crash. She has started all 11 games for the Orange this season and is tied for fourth on the team with 20 points.

Amy Cross, her sister, attended SU from 2010 through 2014 and played for the women’s lacrosse team. She was involved in a car crash in March of 2013 when a car driving out of Thornden Park hit the car Amy was driving. Amy Cross hung up her phone when a Daily Orange reporter identified themselves to her.

Susie Mehringer, an assistant director of athletic communications, did not immediately return a phone call.

The Daily Orange will continue to update this story.

Published on March 26, 2015 at 4:49 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR