When a Boston University student was struck by a car late Saturday, it became another reminder of the hazards of living near one of the busiest streets in the city, and prompted the victim’s friends to renew a call for greater pedestrian safety.
Isadora Nogueira was hit by a car traveling in the left lane of the road near Buick Street late Saturday night and was knocked to the ground. The Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior lay bleeding from the mouth, according to witnesses. She fractured her leg and was given stitches at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and was released early Sunday morning, according to School of Management senior Carlos Santa, who was with Nogueira when she was hit.
Nogueira was walking from the Student Village with about five other people and crossed from the crosswalk, Santa said. When they stepped into the street, the stoplight turned green. Cars in the first two lanes remained stopped to let them cross, but the car in the left lane did not and clipped one student and then hit Nogueira near its headlight, Santa said.
Santa said the crosswalk and streetlights were not coordinated correctly.
Santa estimated the car, which he said was a red Mercury, was traveling between 30 and 40 miles per hour when it hit Nogueira. He said he immediately called the police, who responded within five minutes. An ambulance arrived shortly after, he said.
Santa said he began talking with administrators and the BU Police Department yesterday because he is concerned Commonwealth Avenue is unsafe. He noted there are no speed-limit signs on the BU stretch of the street, and BUPD has no authority to issue speeding tickets.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said there is a “fundamental speed limit” of 30 miles per hour on Commonwealth Avenue because it is a “heavily congested area.” Boston police have and will enforce that limit, he added.
“We communicate regularly with Boston police about safety issues and traffic enforcement,” he said.
Many students have been hit by cars in the past year on Commonwealth Avenue, and with construction funneling traffic into one lane in many parts of the street, police have had to direct cars and crossing students at many intersections in the heart of the campus.
In October 2006, Beatriz Ponce, a 17-year-old College of Arts and Sciences freshman, was struck and killed by a car on Memorial Drive near her residence at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Cambridge. One month later, BU reinstated a pedestrian-safety awareness day to discourage jaywalking and promote safe crossing. The event was repeated last semester, and will continue next week.
Pedestrian safety is covered in orientation and in materials given to new students, and it is a concern for resident assistants and hall directors, Riley said.
“Sadly, [Saturday’s] experience is just a reminder,” he said.
The Boston Police Department is investigating the incident and had not made public any details or reports as of last night.
Nogueira is recovering from her injury and was unavailable for comment.
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