Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included details of accidents on Stoney Creek Road and Slade Road, but these roads are not located in Bexley, OH. The Chimes regrets this error and the story below has been updated accordingly.
On June 26, 2017, Amanda Patton, a junior Psychology major here at Capital, was struck by an oncoming car while riding her bike on campus. Patton, returning from a housesitting job in Bexley, was crossing the intersection of Cassingham and Main when she was hit. Although Patton walked away generally unscathed, she did gain bloodied and bruised knees and significant road rash. In addition to the physical injuries acquired, Patton opened up about what she referred to as, “a weird sense of post-traumatic stress.” As a college student, Patton’s main source of transportation had been her bicycle, but after the accident, she described being, “scared to ride her bike again,” even within a suburban setting. “I still get nervous,” Patton shared, “It took a while before I wasn’t hyper-aware of every vehicle while trying to cross streets.”
A similar case was reported with Oliva Thompson. On Aug. 22, 2018, upon walking to Graeter’s, Thompson was hit while a car was turning left from South Drexel onto Main Street. Her hands came in contact with the roof of the car, and after her initial contact, the car sped away. Shaken, Thompson described looking around for witnesses to help but was largely ignored. When asked about the effect of the accident, Thompson confessed that she was, “very shaken after the accident and now I don’t cross at that intersection. It makes me too nervous, so I cross at Main and College instead.”
While these stories seem unusual, more cases like these have been reported on campus. On Sept. 11, 2018, the Chimes twitter page ran a poll asking whether students had either gotten hit or had a close call with a car on campus. The poll ran for two days and collected a total of 49 votes, reflecting that 47 percent admitted to either getting hit by or having a close call with a car on campus. While these numbers appear drastic, there have been plenty of stories rereported.
Stories like these serve not to scare students from making that daily commute on bike or crossing Main Street for some post-midterm Graeter’s , but rather to educate. Many believe that accidents like these only occur in busy urban settings or on larger college campuses, but students are getting hit (or almost hit) right here on Capital’s campus, and it’s happening more frequently than one might guess. So, take out those AirPods, look up from your Instagram feed, and stay alert next time you cross the street on campus.
