On Monday evening, two UB students suffered injuries that occurred within two minutes of each other.
At approximately 6:55 p.m. on the rainy evening, a student fell and broke his leg by on a grassy hill by Rensch Road after slipping on the wet terrain. Soon after, a small Toyota SUV struck a female who was by the Cooke A and B lots on her way to class. She was released from the Erie County Medical Center after being treated for her broken leg.
While the weather was to blame for the first incident, there was no concrete reason given for the vehicular case. The driver was issued a summons for not yielding to the victim at the crosswalk, according to University Police Department (UPD) Lieutenant David Urbanek.
The Getzville Fire Department and UPD were at the scene for both incidents.
Students were at both sites to provide aid. Students stayed by the first victim's side as firefighters carefully excavated the injured man from the site. A different group of students was equally helpful with the vehicular accident victim.
"They were talking to her dad on the phone and comforting her," Urbanek said. "They talked to the girl that hit her and had her stand to the side. They were very nice about the whole thing."
This is the second on-campus car accident within the past three weeks. On Oct. 28, 18-year-old Anna Schimpf drove into a body of water near South Lake Village on UB's North Campus.
However, Urbanek said the rate of vehicular incidents has remained relatively the same as last year.
Urbanek advises pedestrians to wear light or colored clothing while walking at night to remain visible to drivers. This precaution is crucial during harsh weather conditions, he said.
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