Pedestrian Struck by Car Near UCSC Bookstore

By Hilary Van Hoose on April 23, 2013

At approximately 4:15pm on Monday, April 22 a loud thump rang out, followed by the screams of half a dozen or so bystanders. Everyone within earshot ran to give assistance and someone yelled to call 9-1-1.

Paramedics kneeling to assist injured pedestrian.

A sedan had struck a young woman crossing the intersection of Hagar and Steinhart Way (the corner between the Quarry Plaza and the downhill Cowell/Bookstore bus stop). She cried that her right foot and her abdomen were in pain – which I took as a good sign, since screaming is better than unconscious. I and three others whipped out cell phones to call for help and stood by for an answer. It rang for what seemed like a minute, but I got through and, in a mildly panicked stream of information, reported the aspects of the incident and informed to the crowd when the operator said help was on its way. Meanwhile, a female student cradling the victim’s head used her phone to call the victim’s brother and inform him of the situation.

Two men took the initiative of stepping into the street to redirect traffic while others asked around for witnesses. About 2 minutes later, the blare of sirens announced, a campus fire engine full of paramedics and a couple of police cars. A third police car came a few minutes later to interview the young man driving the car, who had pulled over to the side immediately after the accident. The paramedics asked the crowd to back away and began working on the woman’s ankle, attempting to ascertain the nature of the injury by asking her to rate the level of pain and say whether it felt more like it was on the inside or the outside. She was distraught, but fortunately clear-headed enough to respond.

About five buses were nose-to-tail going downhill. They let everyone out when they got stuck. Further down the road, at the entrance to the East Remote Parking Lot, a UCSC Parking Enforcement vehicle had been repurposed as a road block to keep anyone from driving uphill and getting stuck in the traffic jam.

We here at Uloop wish the young woman a speedy recovery, and hope readers will remember to drive safely and look out for pedestrians. Or, if you’re walking, to be aware of fast or hazardous driving and take every precaution when crossing the road.

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