Accident hospitalizes student

By Mary Georgevich

A student was hospitalized after falling off a car last weekend, according to a Santa Clara Police Department spokesperson.

The student was on Washington Street between Market Street and Santa Clara Street early Saturday morning when he reportedly saw his friends drive by in a pickup truck. They were moving slowly, so he jumped on the sideof the car and held on, said SCPD spokesperson Lt. Phil Cooke.

Shortly after, he fell off the truck, Cooke said, calling it an "unfortunate accident."

Cooke could not confirm the student's name because it is not a criminal case and the victim had not given permission for the police to release his name.

Junior Courtney Blann said she went to the scene of the accident after her roommate noticed an ambulance and fire truck near their house.

"Someone was laying on the ground, and there were a bunch of EMTs attending to him," she said. "I wanted to make sure everyone was OK."

She said the accident occurred near her neighbor's driveway.

The student is still in the hospital, said Lester Deanes, assistant dean for student life, on Tuesday afternoon. He said the student had a head injury, and Deanes did not expect him to get out of the hospital before publication.

The driver of the truck had not been drinking, Cooke said, but the victim's toxicology results cannot be known for a while. "There's not a vested interest in that," Cooke said. He said it doesn't look like there will be any arrests related to the incident.

Blann said she noticed blood on the road the next morning.

The Office of Student Life has not started an investigation, said Deanes.

"Hopefully he learned his lesson," Cooke said. "You shouldn't mess around with cars."

Charles Arolla, Campus Safety director, referred all questions to SCPD and the Office of Student Life.

He also could not confirm the student's name, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

Contact Mary Georgevich at (408) 554-4546 or mgeorgevich@scu.edu.