WASHINGTON (HUNS) – Howard University student Alijah Wilson says he doesn’t remember much about last night after he was hit by a car while riding a scooter on campus.
Wilson recollects waking up in an ambulance on his way to Howard University Hospital, where he is in stable condition with scars but no internal or head injuries. He was traveling northbound on Fourth Street around 9:10 p.m. Tuesday when the accident occurred.
“I hit the front of the car and rolled,” he said earlier today from his hospital room. Wilson also said that he had the right of way before the collision and that he was attempting to cross over to the east side of Fourth Street, which is lined with dormitories.
“When I got hit, she must have been going pretty fast,” he said of the woman driving the car. “I didn’t feel anything. I blacked out and woke up in the ambulance.”
Bystanders who witnessed the collision surrounded Wilson in concern, unsure of what to do.
One freshman, who is an emergency medical technician, was sitting with a friend when he heard that a student had been hit. He later saw Wilson lying in the road with a car parked at a stoplight at the bottom of Fourth Street near the Mary M. Bethune Annex dormitory. The freshman student came forward to check Wilson’s pulse and keep him stable while waiting for an ambulance.
“It was kind of a mix of emotions,” said the freshman, who declined to be identified. “It’s my first thing on my own, because I am an EMT. So, I have been in these types of situations. It’s like I knew what to go through. It was just trying to get through that basically. But it was still, it was upsetting. It was really sad.”
Accidents have been one of his concerns. “I’ve been thinking about this the entire time I’ve been here,” he said from the scene. “It is dangerous — this campus is being as open as it is and allowing people to just basically come through any type of way.”
Officers from Howard’s Department of Public Safety arrived on the scene around 9:16 p.m. Sgt. Anthony Winbush and his colleagues said they were perplexed as to how the collision occurred between a southbound car and a northbound scooter. The accident is still under investigation.
“I came on the scene as the young man was being put on the stretcher and put into the ambulance to be taken to Howard University Hospital for further treatment,” Winbush said.
“It shakes me up to know that people riding on scooters are basically not being seen by vehicles,” he added. “They are blind to the public eye when people are in their vehicles, whether it’s in the daytime or nighttime.”
Winbush says this accident highlights a bigger safety issue in the metropolitan area whether individuals are on foot or riding vehicles. However, he does not believe scooters should be banned at Howard despite this incident.
“It’s people’s public way of transportation. I know people have to commute back and forth,” he said. “So, I don’t really speak on whether it’s a negative or positive effect.”
Wilson also does not believe Howard should do away with scooters.
“No, I don’t think they should be banned; they’re useful,” he said. “A lot of kids gotta hop from place to place, because it’s a very big campus. I rode the scooter because my legs were sore that day.”
With the high use of scooters on campus and potential for accidents, Wilson would like to see solutions to redesign scooters with safety in mind and more awareness by drivers.
“There was a reasonable distance between me and the car for her to slow down,” he said. “I’m not a small cat.”
“On campus, people drive crazy and don’t pay much attention,” he added. “Be more aware of your surroundings.”
Wilson shared his takeaway from the ordeal, prompted by support from friends who found him, traveled to the hospital in the ambulance and provided his information to doctors.
“Look out for each other and make sure you have people willing to do that for you and a group of friends around to keep you safe.”
Bamidele Aina is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
