The Ohio University graduate student who was hit by an Ohio University vehicle near West Green Tuesday is still in critical condition at Grant Medical Center in Columbus.
Charles Chas Wheeler, 24, a second-year student in the clinical psychology doctorate program, was hit head-on by a black Chevrolet 3500 pick-up truck at about 4:10 p.m. while walking across Richland Avenue toward Porter Hall.
Wheeler was life-flighted with a serious head injury from O'Bleness Memorial Hospital to Grant Medical Center in Columbus Tuesday night.
Professor Benjamin Ogles, chair of the psychology department, said Wheeler, who was specializing in health psychology, was doing well in his studies and was beginning to work in clinical settings.
The driver of the truck was OU employee Robert P. Davis, 22, of U.S. Route 50 West in Albany. Davis refused to comment.
Athens Police Department Lt. Jeff McCall said Davis has not been charged with anything at this time.
OU spokesman Jack Jeffery said Davis is employed by OU's division of campus recreation, and part of his job is to ensure vehicles are serviced. Davis drives the university vehicles to and from the OU motor pool, located off of Shafer Street.
McCall said though the area, which is city property, is high-traffic, he has only been called to an accident at the location one or two other times.
The area where the accident occurred has two brick paths from one side of Richland Avenue to the other. The paths are not designated as crosswalks but are an attempt to keep pedestrians crossing the street at specific points, Jeffery said. Signs on both sides of the street state Caution: Vehicles have the right of way.
The city and the university recently joined forces to study a range of high-traffic areas in Athens and to find ways to make them safer, Jeffery said. He could not confirm whether the area where the crash occurred will be one of those studied.
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