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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

3rd pedestrian-related accident alarms campus

Wells Library Accident

IU student Kexin Xiang was hit by a car at about 8 a.m. Friday when she was walking north across 10th Street near the Herman B Wells Library bus stop.

She was treated for contusion and abrasion injuries at Bloomington Hospital, IU Police Department Lt. Craig Munroe said.

Xiang was later released from Bloomington Hospital with no major injuries, according to an IUPD press release.

The front-left bumper of the car hit Xiang, causing her to roll over on top of the hood, Munroe said.

The driver, also an IU student, reported that his vision was obscured by the sun.

The car hit Xiang in the eastbound turn lane by the Wells Library.

Officers reported that the driver did not show signs of impairment, but they did detect the smell of alcohol, according to the press release. The driver was given a Breathalyzer test and blew below the legal limit.

The driver of the car was not arrested and has not been charged.

In light of the three vehicle-pedestrian accidents between Wednesday and Friday last week, provost and executive vice president Karen Hanson sent an e-mail to students Friday urging them to be careful when driving, walking and bicycling on campus.

“Take extra caution when you cross a street,” Hanson said in the e-mail. “Look both ways, and then look both ways again.”

Traffic safety experts are investigating the recent accidents and are looking into possible long-term actions to improve traffic safety on campus, Hanson said in the e-mail.

IU sophomore Peter Duong was killed by a car Wednesday while crossing Fee Lane.
Later that day, a minor accident involving a pizza delivery car and a pedestrian occurred near the same location on Fee Lane.

IU student and freshman Kaleigh Bacher started an online petition to improve traffic safety in the area of Foster Quad, McNutt Quad and Briscoe Quad. The area is typically known as the Northwest neighborhood of residence halls.

The petition asks for a crossing guard and a lighted crosswalk, according to the petition’s Web site.

As of press time, 271 people had signed the petition.

A Facebook group titled “Safety for Fee Lane Petition” has been formed to create awareness for the petition. The group had 368 members as of press time.

Bacher, who created the petition and Facebook group, was one of the people who witnessed the accident that killed Duong, according to the Facebook group’s description.

- IDS reporter Alex Benson and editor Elvia Malagon contributed to this report.

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