A student pedestrian was hospitalized after a car struck them while he crossed 12th St. The student was identified as mass communications senior Dean Allen. He was utilizing the Rapid Flashing Beacon (RFB) crosswalks with signals between Texas Ave and Mesa Ave in the early afternoon of Aug. 25.
According to reports from KREX, the car had a large hole in the windshield from the collision. Allen went to the hospital after having sustained serious injuries.
Sophomore viticulture student Tyler Coffman was near the scene of the crash as it unfolded. He said there were no indications that the driver attempted to slow down prior to the collision.
This crash is the most recent of many along the 12th St. corridor between North and Patterson. Last February, a car struck and killed a bicyclist riding along 12th St. Both that crash and the recent one involving Allen were deemed accidents with no alcohol or foul-play involved.
12th St. is a high-volume pedestrian area, as many students, staff and faculty park on the east side of the street and cross to reach the campus each day. There are hundreds of parking spaces on the east side of 12th St. for students, as well as ample on-street parking that many campus members utilize.
A pedestrian crossing the street can press a button to activate flashing lights while they cross to alert drivers of their presence. Allen used one of these crosswalks during the incident.
Coffman said he thinks the speed limit is too high for how many pedestrians use the road and RFB crosswalk. He believes the speed limits should sit at 25 mph.
“There’s no reason for the speed limit to be 35 on that road,” said Coffman.
To combat these issues, CMU collaborated with the city’s transportation and engineering department to build the RFB crosswalks in three spots along 12th a few years ago. The city found the best placement and CMU purchased and now maintains the RFBs.
Anthropology senior Gabby Pacheco also witnessed the event as it happened while she was approaching the same crosswalk to get to her car. She made the 911 call and ran towards Allen. Pacheco said emergency responders arrived within minutes and that the entire situation lasted about 10 minutes in total.
She was watching the crosswalk and said that a group of people crossed in the same direction as Allen right before he was struck. Pacheco said the driver of the car rushed over to Allen to check on him as he laid in the road.
Previous reporting indicated that Allen was unresponsive until emergency services arrived, however Pacheco said that he was responsive enough to roll out of the road and ask for someone to call his father.
Pacheo said she believes the driver was going the speed limit through the crosswalk when the driver struck Allen.
President John Marshall believes that the light-up crosswalks provide a false sense of security that actually makes them more dangerous for pedestrians.
“We virtually never have people struck in areas where there’s not lighted signals. And what that tells you is, as a matter of human nature, we take on a false sense of security in those lighted cross signals, where we think our job is done when we press the button,” Marshall said.
Marshall said that diligence as a pedestrian is the real key to safety and that everyone crossing the street should be actively watching each lane of traffic as they walk through.
“Each lane becomes its own challenge,” Marshall said.
Dr. Roberto Montoya arrived at the scene of the accident a few minutes after it happened. He said he personally knew Allen and took some time to visit with him in the hospital. He said his top priority was making sure Allen and his family received all the support they needed from the school.
“The safety of our students, to me, is paramount,” Montoya said. “I remember being here when I was student body president and advocating for the first set of crosswalks on 12th.”
Allen was released from the hospital and was seen walking on campus on Sept 4. At this time, it is unknown if this accident will impact his ability to complete the semester.
A Go-Fund-Me was recently set up to support Allen’s swift and safe recovery.
