Ice causes car accident

A University staff member was hit by a car and seriously injured yesterday, after the first major accumulating snowfall of the year created icy conditions on roadways and campus walkways.

Around 3 p.m. Wednesday, when most of the snowfall had ended for the day, a vehicle traveling south on Washington Road next to Frist Campus Center began skidding toward the curb after the driver lost control. Theodore Christie, a maintenance assistant at Frist, was standing inside a nearby bus stop shelter when he noticed the car heading directly toward him.

The vehicle continued "toward the bus stop and plowed through a sign," Princeton Borough Police Lt. David Dudeck said. At that point, Christie began to run out of the way, but "the vehicle bounced off of the curve in front of the stop and hit [him]," Dudeck added.

When officers arrived on the scene, Christie complained of pain in his left shoulder, neck and the entire left side of his body, Dudeck said, adding that there was a possibility that the impact had broken Christie's pelvis.

None of his injuries were life-threatening, however, and Christie was transported to the University Medical Center at Princeton for treatment.

"The accident is under investigation," Dudeck said. He added that, regardless of the investigation's findings, "it is the driver's responsibility to keep the car under control, no matter what the conditions."

Earlier in the day, the University had attempted to protect employees from weather-related accidents by dismissing nonessential personnel between 2 and 3 p.m. It is unclear whether Christie was one of the staff members being sent home early.

Other University employees also chose to play it safe with regard to driving conditions, leaving work early to ensure a safe commute home. Some professors and preceptors took steps to cancel office hours or precepts.

Despite the rapid accumulation in the morning, the snowfall eventually tapered off by the afternoon. With only a few inches of snow remaining on the ground in most places, the weather did not significantly affect traffic flows during the evening commute.

Still, the University's grounds maintenance staff did not start plowing most parts of campus until well after most students had already trudged through piles of slush and slippery ice to their first classes. By the end of the afternoon, most walkways and roads had been fully cleared.

While Princeton did not choose to cancel classes, a few other universities in the Northeast took preemptive measures against the snowstorm. Cornell University closed its campus at 12:30 p.m. in anticipation of heavier snowfall, while the George Washington University cancelled all classes after 5 p.m. on Tuesday and some on Wednesday morning.

Classes were cancelled at Princeton Regional Schools on Wednesday.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association reported snowfalls of up to three inches in the central New Jersey region. Princeton has seen snowfalls without significant accumulation several times already this season.

According to the Facilities website, the department has a specific plan for dealing with any snowfall problems on campus. Technicians are available to sand and deice hazardous areas on an on-call basis, and prepositioned deicing chemicals are located in several places on campus to expedite response times.

The website also contains a warning that, though snow may seem mild at first, "freezing rain and other dangerous conditions are usually very difficult to predict and are very localized."

"Experience has shown that a perfectly safe situation can turn treacherous in a matter of a few minutes," the site added.