On Thursday, Feb. 25, I got a phone call from my friend (who wishes to remain anonymous). She told me a story that infuriated me and everyone else who has heard it.
If you’re not aware, some programs hold classes in the small houses that you see while driving on Campus Loop Road. The Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business Program (MEBUS), is one of those programs. My friend (let’s call her Nikole) is in that program and walks to her class instead of relying on the ever so unreliable BOB. When Nikole and a friend were leaving class around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, things got a little frightening for them.
They thought about taking the bus because it was pretty chilly out, but they couldn’t get to it before it left the bus stop. They were minding their own business on the sidewalk, walking and talking like we all do. They vaguely noticed a car go past. Then they heard tires screeching and turned around.
The Nissan that went past them had almost rear-ended a vehicle that was turning left. Instead of slamming on her breaks as hard as she could, or actually rear-ending the other vehicle, the driver decided to swerve. The problem is she decided to swerve onto the sidewalk where they were walking. Tire marks can be seen in the grass and on the sidewalk where the incident occurred.
Nikole took out her phone and snapped some pictures before the smoke cleared because she couldn’t believe what had just happened. They stood there for a minute pointing at the car saying how lucky they were to be alive and wondering what had just happened. Minutes after the pictures were taken the driver drove off, almost hitting the car that had been behind her in the process.
The girls turned around and continued their walk, thankful they were alive. What happened next is definitely a trip to crazy town. Apparently the driver of the Nissan decided to turn around at one of the houses on Campus Loop Road and come back. From the opposite lane she rolled down her window and tried to talk to them. She said something about how she was sorry if it scared them but the car in front of her just stopped out of nowhere.
Not once did she ask them if they were alright. She only said she was sorry if it scared them. She never took responsibility for her own actions during the debacle, blaming the car in front of her for everything. She came back to justify her actions once she saw they were taking pictures with their phones. They looked at her and said they didn’t care what happened between her and that car.
They rightfully cared that they were flesh and bone on a sidewalk with zero protection from what she just decided to do. Did she even look to see if someone was on the sidewalk before swerving? In what was a split second decision, I seriously doubt it.
When telling the story Nikole said, “If we had been walking even 30 seconds slower we’d probably be dead or very seriously injured right now.” If you’ve never noticed, the sidewalk on Campus Loop Road doesn’t have any barriers or railing to protect pedestrians in any way and neither do any of the other sidewalks on campus (however those are raised whereas the one on Campus Loop Road is not in some parts). To be honest, we shouldn’t need them to have rails.
I don’t care what her reasons were. You shouldn’t drive that way on campus – period. You shouldn’t be looking at your phone, tailgating someone or speeding through. You know there are people walking everywhere. You know people are going to stop and swerve into a parking spot or the entrance to a lot if they see an open spot. You already know these things. You should be paying attention at all times.
People shouldn’t have to fear for their life walking to and from class because you’re a moron. They especially shouldn’t have to worry about this when they’re already on a damn sidewalk doing what they’re supposed to instead of just running across the road like some people do.
What do you think about how people drive on campus?
