By W.C. Lawson |
It was like any other Monday for ASUP Senator and sophomore Brooke Murphy as she walked home from class at 3:40 p.m. When she approached her normal route home to cross Willamette Blvd. at Fiske St., she saw her friend crossing Willamette to come onto campus. Shortly after Murphy and her friend exchanged hellos, her Monday became anything but typical.
“I was terrified. I couldn’t see anything,” Murphy said. “I was face on the ground. My shoulder and hip were killing me.”
An SUV had hit Murphy on her right side. Later she would say the vehicle was going only 10 mph, but it was enough to knock her to the ground. Her friend was screaming frantically and a Public Safety officer held her head until paramedics showed up.
“All around me were voices and noises. I began to shake when the ambulance came,” Murphy said. “My concept of time was kind of a blur and I was scared because I wasn’t allowed to get up.”
Once in the ambulance she felt calmer, even cracked some jokes.
Murphy was examined at Emanuel Hospital. A few X-rays later, she was released with only a few bruises and an aching shoulder and hip.
While Murphy was at the hospital, her fellow ASUP senators were having their weekly meeting. They had heard about the accident, and mentioned her in the prayer they say before each meeting.
Only two weeks earlier, ASUP Senator and sophomore Anthony Montoya had sent an inquiry to the Portland Bureau of Transportation about putting a crosswalk at that very spot where Murphy was hit. Many students take that route several times a day. However, the city denied the request because that spot is so close to the lighted crosswalk that was put in a few years ago.
ASUP President Quin Chadwick hopes to see the Senate propose the idea again.
“This is the sad irony of the situation,” Chadwick said. “I think this shows a need for a new crosswalk. We are just so grateful to know that she is OK.”
In light of this event, Environmental Safety Officer Jeff Rook wants to encourage students to use the lighted crosswalk at the university’s main entrance.
“We really want to try our best to direct students to utilize the properly marked crosswalk,” Rook said. “As well as the lighting system to notify drivers there are people crossing the street.”
Rook also reminds students to be aware of traffic in general. He said the most common complaint he gets from drivers on campus is that students are always looking down at their cell phones.
“As much as there are defensive drivers, you need to have defensive pedestrians as well,” Rook said.
When Murphy got back from the hospital she and her housemates had a “sobbing reunion.” Murphy felt fortunate.
“It could have been a lot worse,” she said. “And I got really, really really lucky.”
