Misato Kawamura, a 19-year-old student from Japan, had just completed her first week at OU. Then on March 30, a recycling truck backed over her as she tried to cross the service drive between Ellis Hall and Alden Library. Kawamura suffered leg and pelvic bone fractures and might have to use a wheelchair for three months.
By the time she is able to walk again, the university should have taken steps to make sure a similar accident doesn't occur again, and not just in the area near the library.
Students who regularly walk to Alden Library, or from Uptown to East and South Greens, are well acquainted with the perils of unexpected service vehicles barreling up the brick drives. They're also acquainted with possibly the most dangerous intersection on campus ' where Morton Hill meets Park Place meets the library access road meets University Terrace. Kawamura was unaccustomed to these hazards, so what might have otherwise been one of many close calls instead became a serious injury.
The State Highway Patrol report released last week identified the driver's improper backing as contributing to the accident. The driver might have been at fault, but the university is not without responsibility. Officials need to do something immediately about the flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic in this dangerous area and in other areas around campus. President McDavis has made student safety a primary concern, which is laudable. But in this particular area, that concern must be translated into prompt action. The university might consider further restricting traffic on the service drives or diverting pedestrians around the area.
In the meantime, make sure to look both ways while walking home from the library. Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Post executive editors.
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University also at fault for not regulating vehicle traffic in heavy pedestrian traffic
