The latest in a series of recent pedestrian accidents, this one occurring on Kendrick Road near Southside Living Center on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 7, sent an undergraduate student to the hospital for six days. Sophomore Christine Poh sustained post-traumatic symptoms in addition to head injuries after being struck by a motorist while crossing the crosswalk on Kendrick Road between Southside and the bus shelter, according to Director of UR Security Walter Mauldin.
At approximately 10:58 a.m., Poh was walking toward Valentine Tower and was nearly across the road on the Valentine side when she was struck by the right-side front end of the car. According to a report released by UR Security Investigator Daniel Lafferty, it was snowing at the time of the accident and road surface conditions were reported as being snow/ice. Poh hit her head on the lower right corner of the windshield.
“I stepped out into the road and there were no cars, then all of a sudden a car came around the curb,” Poh said.
Further details are vague, as neither Poh nor the driver remember exactly what happened next.
According to the report, Rochester Police and Emergency Medical Technicians were immediately notified by the motorist and responded to the scene. Poh was transported straight to Strong Memorial Hospital Emergency Department by ambulance where she received further evaluation and care.
Poh was diagnosed with an occipital lobe skull fracture. Speaking this past Tuesday, she also said that she suffered from post-traumatic symptoms for days after the accident, including headaches and vomiting. Poh was released from the hospital after six days and said she is still feeling lingering effects.
“The skull fracture takes time to heal,” she said. “I still have a headache and dizziness – it’s hard to study.” She said that there should not be any permanent effects.
This is the third instance of a vehicle striking a pedestrian on River Campus since Nov. 7, 2007.
The first two incidents occurred at the crosswalk on Elmwood Avenue by the UR Medical Center.
The first victim, senior Sara Gail Ng Lim, was seriously injured while crossing on foot. Six days later, sophomore Greg Nasso suffered minor cuts and scratches after his bicycle was thrown on top of the car.
Mauldin, speaking at the time of the first incident, explained that University Security had worked along with city and county traffic engineers the previous March to highlight the path by installing a system of motion-activated flashing lights embedded in the pavement.
After the second accident, Mauldin said that the University had requested the installation of traffic signals at the Elmwood crosswalk.
According to Mauldin, the Elmwood traffic lights were approved for installation last week, though it is not clear that the approval had anything to do with the Kendrick incident.
The project, which will be jointly funded by Monroe County and UR, will begin in late spring after UR Commencement to coincide with spring weather conditions and decreased pedestrian and vehicle traffic, as well as to avoid interfering with Commencement ceremonies.
Mauldin said that the possibility of traffic lights being installed on Kendrick Road in response to the recent incident was being considered, but that at this point it seemed unlikely.
“The insurance office and other facilities were looking into it,” he said. “But no immediate conclusions have been made.”
Rochester police conducted an investigation of Poh’s accident, and, according to Mauldin, the driver was cited on the day of the accident for failure to yield to a pedestrian.
Poh has not decided at this point whether she will take further legal recourse, though she is currently attempting to convince the driver to pay her medical bills.
“That doesn’t seem to be working out too well,” Poh said in reference to the attempt. “Maybe after that we’ll think about other legal actions.”
Wrobel is a member of
the class of 2010.
