A vehicle struck and injured two students in a crosswalk on campus around 7:30 p.m., Oct. 19.

The incident happened in the crosswalk by the Science Center leading to Parking Lot L. The driver said she did not see the two female pedestrians because of poor visibility due to rain and foggy windows.

Both students are okay, neither being fatally injured; but the more seriously injured of the two suffered a broken leg, staples and bruising, but no internal injuries.

Sophomore Erin Miller was one of few people to witness the event unfold. “I was leaving from night class and no one was walking when I drove through [the crosswalk]. Then I saw it happen in my rearview mirror, so I went back to help,” Miller said.

Of the other witnesses who were present, one stayed with the driver, and two more people came to check on the injured.

“One seemed fine, but the other one was hit bad. She wasn’t moving or saying anything. We didn’t move them just in case there were spinal injuries,” Miller said. “Someone called 9-1-1 and we sat there and waited for the ambulance to come.”

For years, the rumor of free tuition covered by the university when struck by a vehicle on campus has been speculated. Dean of Students Jeffrey Waple said, “There is absolutely no truth to that rumor.”

In incidents such as these, students wonder what could be done to prevent the situation from happening.

Senior electronic media broadcasting major Keith Plantholt thinks elevated crosswalks are the way to go.

“Putting crosswalks that go over the road, such as the one connecting Griffin Hall and the parking garage, could prevent this from happening. It’ll also improve traffic on campus,” Plantholt said.

Others senior economics major Travis Schwaller that “the pedestrians could have also paid attention to the fact that the driver didn’t notice them walking because the car wasn’t slowing down,” Schwaller said.

Along with elevated crosswalks and paying better attention, Miller said that lighting along the road at night is where the problem lies.

“If NKU was better lit along the roads then this probably wouldn’t have happened,” Miller said. “You really can’t see anything at night, but people also shouldn’t be speeding. I’ll definitely think twice about speeding through campus after witnessing that accident.”

Until something is implemented at NKU to help prevent accidents like this from occurring, students will need to think twice before speeding and practice the age-old rule of looking both ways before crossing the street.