Students hit by car in Bigelow crosswalk

A vehicle struck two Pitt students as they crossed Bigelow Boulevard Saturday evening, leaving… A vehicle struck two Pitt students as they crossed Bigelow Boulevard Saturday evening, leaving them injured and hospitalized at UPMC Presbyterian until late Sunday afternoon.

Matt Gaydos and Jennifer Piesetzkie, both seniors, said they were in the middle of the marked crosswalk between the William Pitt Union driveway and the Cathedral of Learning when a minivan hit them.

On Oct. 3, the crosswalk – one of three between the Cathedral and the Union – became part of a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation program aimed at reducing pedestrian fatalities by placing brightly colored markers within 50 feet of high-traffic crossings.

At the time of the accident, the four yellow reflective “yield to pedestrians signs” were not in place. Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney said the signs are not in place during the weekends.

Delaney said officers generally position the signs weekdays before 9 a.m. and remove them at about 10 p.m. after evening classes have ended.

Delaney said that when Dom Costa, commander of the city’s Zone 6 police station, approached him about the PennDOT pilot program, he wanted to use the signs only at particular times to heighten their impact.

“I wanted [the signs] at class change times,” Delaney said. “This is the time my kids are crossing [and] if a driver gets used to something, he doesn’t see it anymore.”

Delaney said that he is considering placing the signs seven days a week and will contact city police and PennDOT officials to discuss the matter.

But he said the signs make no material difference to the incident.

“Whether there’s a crosswalk or not, you can’t drive through people on the street,” Delaney said.

Delaney added that Pitt police have been monitoring the area more closely since the beginning of the program. Delaney did not know whether police had issued any citations directly related to the crosswalk, but said he believes that enforcement has had a positive effect.

“We’re seeing a more vehicular congested area, which means we’re slowing them down,” Delaney said.

Gaydos said he has long regarded the crosswalk as dangerous.

“That crosswalk freaks me out anyway,” he said. “I’m always looking out.”

When Gaydos and Piesetzkie began to walk across Bigelow Boulevard in the direction of the Union just after 7 p.m., the sun had already set. But according to both, the area remained well-lit.

“[After the accident] I remember looking around and seeing faces,” Piesetzkie said. “It was bright enough to see people’s faces.”

According to Gaydos, some cars had already slowed as the two neared the double yellow lines that mark the center of the street. Gaydos said he saw another vehicle approaching, but believed that it was slowing too.

“We saw it and we figured he saw us,” Gaydos said. “After that, we were in the next lane.”

Piesetzkie said Gaydos, who was walking on the side nearer the minivan, was struck first.

“I saw him get hit and try to jump out of the way,” Piesetzkie said. “I knew I was next.”

Piesetzkie said she landed near the curb closest to the Union – a full lane from where she said the two were initially struck.

According to Piesetzkie, a crowd quickly assembled around her while she was on the ground and she shouted for one of the onlookers to call for help.

“I couldn’t get up and I didn’t want to,” she said. “I was paralyzed with fear.”

Gaydos said he approached Piesetzkie to make certain she was OK before realizing the extent of his own injuries.

“I was just trying to assess what the hell was happening,” he said. “It was surreal. I was bleeding [and] my glasses were broken.”

Gaydos said that, among other injuries, he suffered a broken wrist, bruises and contusions above his knee and cuts on his face.

Piesetzkie said that when she entered the hospital, her blood pressure had dropped severely. Now out of the hospital, she said she needs crutches to walk, and will likely not return to class until at least Monday.

The city police have not made their report available, but Delaney said the Pitt police report indicated that the driver of the minivan stopped immediately and spoke with city police. Delaney also said the accident remains under investigation.

Gaydos and Piesetzkie urge witnesses to the accident to contact the police. The Zone 6 police station can be reached at (412) 422-6520.

Editor’s note: Matt Gaydos is an editorial illustrator and cartoonist for The Pitt News.