On Wednesday, Sep. 4, 2024, two student pedestrians from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette were involved in an accident with a university transportation bus.
At approximately 9:32 a.m., the UL Lafayette Police Department (ULPD) responded to a call from UL Lafayette Office of Transportation Services regarding the accident. Police officers from the Lafayette Police Department also arrived at the scene of the event.
Sergeant Lance Frederick, training coordinator and public information officer for the ULPD, provided details of the incident.
According to Frederick, a UL Lafayette transportation bus was turning left from Girard Park Circle onto East Saint Mary Boulevard when it collided with the student pedestrians.
The students involved in the accident were classified as two females of the ages 18 and 22 years old.
Evidence as to how the accident occurred and who was at fault are still being gathered.
“We are going over cameras. That’s going to be the only way we can do that,” Frederick explained.
Although still awaiting statements from the incident, the driver of the UL Lafayette bus was reported to be distraught due to the accident.
“The driver was scared. It was a traumatic incident for all parties,” Frederick commented.
The physical states of the two students at the scene of the event, along with current conditions, have not yet been revealed. However, Frederick explained, “They were transported to a hospital on their request by Acadian Ambulance.”
ULPD has contacted at least one of the two students regarding their condition.
“One of them, we got with the charge nurse at that hospital, and they were waiting treatment, waiting on results and then to see what was going to come of that.”
At the moment, Frederick stressed that the university police department is being patient with the investigation and allowing time for the students to recover as needed before further questioning and statements can be obtained.
“You can’t make an assumption about what happened. You have to get the driver, the witnesses, the people that were hit, the cameras; you have to put all that together, create a picture and then make a decision,” Frederick concluded.
From the incident on Wednesday, one predominant concern within university grounds and beyond became that of driver and pedestrian safety.
Especially as pedestrians, the convenience of crossing a street in hopes of shortcuts rather than walking to the nearest crosswalk may be tempting. However, it must first be acknowledged why such laws exist in the first place.
According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commision (LHSC), in 2022, there were nearly 183 pedestrian fatalities while 1,226 faced injuries. There were also fatalities and injuries for those who commuted on bicycles.
The Louisiana State Legislature outlines, “Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.”
“Between adjacent intersections at which traffic-control signals are in operation pedestrians shall not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk,” details the RS 32:213.
The LHSC explains that pedestrians are allowed to traverse across crosswalks and intersections, where all intersections, despite the absence of markings, are crosswalks and lawfully allows one to cross the road.
If crossing a street at any other location, pedestrians must yield to motor vehicles.
Therefore, for those operating motor vehicles, it must be respected that pedestrians have the right-of-way in any given intersection, but they must obey pedestrian traffic signals, if any are present, just as motorized vehicles must obey their specified traffic lights.
Generally, if a pedestrian traffic light indicates a walking-signal while a road traffic light is green, the pedestrian still must be given the right-of-way.
With the infrastructure in Louisiana however, the ability for pedestrians to commute safely is quite limited.
In such a situation, where there is no sidewalk or designated area for walking, it is advised that pedestrians should always walk in the opposite flow of traffic so motorized vehicles will likely see them and use caution.
The Lafayette Consolidated Government is pursuing plans to make pedestrian and bicycle commuting a priority by adding components to roads that make walking and bicycling more convenient, widely accessible and safe.
Given the accident that occurred last week, let one, whether a pedestrian, bicyclist or driver, be reminded of the aforementioned laws and safety when commuting on and off campus.
ULPD continues to gather evidence of the incident, and as of Sunday, Sep. 8, 2024, the investigation is still ongoing.