A Washington University Shuttle collided with a student on a bike yesterday morning near the intersection of Forsyth Blvd. and Shepley Drive. The biker, hospitalized after the incident with shoulder injuries, did not endure any serious physical harm and is reported to be in stable condition.

Preliminary eyewitness reports indicate the biker, a graduate student in the performing arts department, ran a red light as a University shuttle left Mallinckrodt Center at approximately 9 a.m. The bike slid underneath the shuttle but the biker did not.

“One was a student and one was a driver for Wash. U.,” said Lieutenant Stuart Glenn of the Clayton Police Department, which handled the accident. “The student was on a bike. The preliminary investigation has shown it’s possible that the bike did not yield.”

Washington University police officers were also present but only to direct traffic around the accident. Freshman Alexa Shoemaker arrived at the scene of the accident shortly after the collision occurred.

“I heard all the sirens and I thought it was odd that there were so many sirens,” said Shoemaker. “I was walking right under the underpass and I saw a fire truck go by with ‘Clayton’ on the side. By time I got under the underpass and up onto the sidewalk area, there were police cars and fire trucks everywhere. I didn’t see any cars crunched anywhere so I was a little confused.”

Also a student in the drama department, Shoemaker knew the biker, and noted, “I think he is in stable condition right now.there weren’t any puncture wounds, just broken bones.”

Lieutenant Stuart could not recall any time he had dealt with a University shuttle hitting a student but he did note that accidents involving automobiles and bikers are a rather frequent occurrence throughout the city.

“You’d be surprised how often these things happen,” said Glenn. “We handle several of these a month, pedestrians struck or bicycles struck. They obviously happen more during nice weather.”

Glenn did note, however, “it’s really quite unusual for bicycles to cause an accident like this” where the biker does not move out of the way of the driver.

“Bicyclists technically are supposed to obey all traffic laws,” said Glenn. “If bicyclists are obeying all safety laws. if you violate a red light, you’re going to have consequences.”

See Monday’s edition of Student Life and visit www.studlife.com for updated information on the situation.

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