Conn. student graduates after serious hit-and-run

HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) — A Quinnipiac University student who was critically injured in an unsolved hit-and-run has defied doctors' predictions and walked across a stage with classmates for his college degree.

Physicians warned Robert Aliano and his family that he was unlikely to walk again after the November 2008 incident, in which he was hit by a car on Whitney Avenue in Hamden.

The Miller Place, N.Y., native suffered brain trauma, punctured lungs and other injuries. The car that struck him and its driver have not been found.

Aliano received his bachelor's degree in marketing Sunday from Quinnipiac, a year after progressing from a wheelchair to walking again. He remains in physical therapy, and credits his family and girlfriend with helping him complete his college courses.

The hit-and-run remains under investigation.