By Molly Igoe
News Editor
At noon on Tuesday, Oct. 31, a student was struck by a vehicle in the intersection of Washington and Campus avenues near the Alumni House.
Samantha Sink, senior, said she was walking back from her class in Cromwell Center when she was struck while in the crosswalk.
“This is not something I ever thought I would have to deal with, and I will be dealing with it for some time in the future,” she said.
According to an email sent out on Thursday, Nov. 2 by Director of Public Safety Gerald Roderick, she was crossing Washington Avenue when a car making a left -hand turn struck her.
Roderick said that the driver did not see the student. He said that she was able to walk onto the ambulance to get checked out.
Sink said she fell on her left side and has a giant bruise.
According to Lt. John Dolgos of the Chestertown Police Department, the driver, who is a resident of Chestertown, has not been charged.
Judie Berry Barroll, director of Alumni and Constituent Engagement, was handing out leftover Halloween candy in between classes in front of the Alumni House when she witnessed the incident.
She said she saw Sink crossing the street, “she was paying attention, sometimes not everyone pays attention at the crosswalk, but she was looking for the right time to cross,” Barroll said.
She then saw the car coming from Campus Avenue turning, and said it was “like slow motion” watching her get hit.
“I said, ‘Oh no,’ and saw her get hit on the hip; thank God he wasn’t driving that fast because it could have been much worse,” she said.
“This intersection is dangerous and requires full attention when crossing. We ask that everyone please pay attention, whether you are driving or walking, and remember that pedestrians have the right of way,” Roderick said in the email.
This isn’t the first time that a student has been struck in that same crosswalk. On March 25, 2015, a student was hit by a car while running in the crosswalk.
Roderick said he has received feedback from people expressing concern about the intersection, which he will be forwarding to the town.
Barroll agreed, and said she hopes that Public Safety and the town can look at the intersection, “especially because student traffic is so much greater and it’s a little dangerous,” she said.
Sink said this incident is “concerning” because she has to walk across that intersection to get to class.
“I’m more hesitant now. My classmates and I don’t feel safe crossing intersections on the street,” she said.