A car accident early Sunday morning damaged part of the suicide barrier installed along the Stewart Avenue Bridge. According to police radio reports from soon after the crash, an officer from the Ithaca Police Department followed the car to the Sigma Chi fraternity house at 106 Cayuga Heights Road. IPD Sgt. Doug Wright filed a report Monday stating that the car was located after the “hit and skip damage” and that the driver had been ticketed.The driver was not a current student, but his name was not released.David Honan, deputy police chief of the Cornell University Police Department, said in an email that the accident was being investigated by the Ithaca Police Department. IPD declined comment. “The Cornell Police were advised that the damage was caused by a motor vehicle accident that the Ithaca Police Department was investigating,” Honan said. “Cornell Facilities Services was notified in order to evaluate the damage and initiate repairs.” Radio reports from Sunday morning stated that the suspected vehicle caused “quite a bit of damage” to the bridge barrier. “The vehicle involved is leaking fluid,” an officer reported over the radio. The officer also said that several car parts had been left on the bridge.According to Honan, CUPD was informed of the incident by the IPD shortly after the crash.Although the city owns the Stewart Avenue Bridge, and IPD will be conducting the investigation, Cornell will be responsible for repairing any damage to the barriers.“It is a city owned bridge, but Cornell installed and maintains the means restriction fencing,” Honan said. Jim Gibbs, the director of Cornell Facilities Maintenance Management, said that the city’s attorney office and the University council were in negotiations to set the maintenance responsibilities for whatever permanent barriers are constructed on the bridges around campus.
Original Author: Byron Kittle