Yesterday, traffic was delayed on East Avenue for over an hour as motorists attempted to figure out the reason for the holdup.
Later on, drivers discovered that a female Cornell student was hit by a vehicle causing police to block the road for the period of time. The accident occurred in the early evening, according to Linda Grace-Kobas, director of the Cornell News Service.
The name of the pedestrian was not given, but Grace-Kobas said that the girl was conscious at the scene. Grace-Kobas said that the accident occurred at 7:13 p.m. on East Avenue.
“There was an accident on East Avenue and a pedestrian was hit,” Grace-Kobas said.
The female pedestrian was taken to Cayuga Medical Center after police arrived.
According to Grace-Kobas, it appeared that the pedestrian’s injury was not life-threatening. The hospital was not able to comment on the accident or the pedestrian’s condition. Authorities were not able to give the name of the female student.
“The student was conscious at the scene but it did not appear to be a life threatening injury,” Grace-Kobas said. “The pedestrian was taken to Cayuga Medical Center.”
She said that the driver of the vehicle was a male Cornell student.
Grace-Kobas believes that there may be criminal charges placed against the driver, although authorities were not able to comment on the accident or the possible accusations against the male student. The name of the driver was also not revealed.
“We think there were charges against the driver,” Grace-Kobas said.
According to Grace-Kobas, the accident occurred at the crosswalk between Rockefeller Hall and Goldwin Smith Hall.
The investigation is being headed by the Ithaca Police Department (IPD) and assisted by the Cornell Police.
Since this is a personal injury accident, the IPD has the authority to choose whether or not to handle the case, according to Grace-Kobas.
“Ithaca police are handling the case but they are assisted by Cornell police,” she said. “[Ithaca police] decide whether or not to handle it.”
Police placed roadblocks on East Avenue that halted traffic and public buses and vehicles were forced to take detours on other roads while the accident scene was cleared.
Archived article by Brian Tsao