A UA student with life-threatening injuries was transported to a hospital after being hit by a falling streetlight pole, police said.
The 19-year-old driver of a maroon Jeep Cherokee was heading east on Sixth Street approaching Highland Avenue. There was a green traffic light for cars traveling from east to west, and one vehicle was attempting to turn south onto Highland Avenue, said Sgt. David Fernandez, a Tucson Police Department officer who was at the scene of the accident.
The vehicle stopped in the middle of the road as pedestrians were walking in the crosswalk. The Cherokee went onto the sidewalk and hit a pole in an attempt to avoid hitting the stopped vehicle. The Cherokee knocked the pole over, and it hit a pedestrian. The 25-year-old UA student was transported to a hospital, according to TPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Matt Ronstadt.
“”The kid was waiting to walk across, and the car hit the pole and the pole hit the kid,”” said Sara Morvay, a UA student who saw the accident’s aftermath. “”I walked out right as the pole fell. The ambulance got here right away. I saw the side of his body, it was all bloody and limp. Then the kid screamed,”” she said as she imitated the scream. “”I’ve never heard anybody scream like that before.””
“”I was walking from the bike store when I see a light pole fall down,”” said Andrew Chaifetz, a pre-business major. “”Then all of a sudden I saw people running away, and I had no idea what was going on. I saw the kid, and it seemed like he was unconscious and there (was) a puddle of blood.
“”The kid was bloody. When the paramedics came, they tried to keep him from moving, and I just heard him scream. I couldn’t take it anymore
and left.””
