A crowd of about 100 students stopped to watch as an 18-year-old student was taken away in an ambulance after a cycling accident Wednesday afternoon near a campus construction site.
One witness, Xiao Yue, a first-year in finance, said the cyclist was riding his bike near a construction site off Woodruff Avenue, when he was struck by a truck backing out of the site.
She said the Monesi Trucking vehicle paused for a few seconds after striking the student, then continued to back up the vehicle. Yue said the student who had been struck was screaming, and bystanders in the area yelled for the driver to stop.
An ambulance arrived shortly after and took the cyclist away.
Deputy Chief Richard Morman said Ohio State Police was notified of the incident at 2:47 p.m. Morman said that an 18-year-old OSU student was riding his bike when he was struck by a dump truck across the street from 146 Woodruff Ave.
Morman said the student was transported to the Wexner Medical Center. He said Wednesday afternoon that the cyclist’s name would not be released until the victim’s parents had been notified. The victim’s parents were notified Wednesday afternoon; however, Wednesday at about 11 p.m., University Police was still not releasing the cyclist’s name.
A representative from Monesi Trucking verified that the company is working on the construction site of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry (CBEC) building between 19th and Woodruff avenues.
The representative said he believed the cyclist steered his bike into the side of the truck but that he did not have more information about the incident and could not comment further.
A crowd of roughly 100 students stood to watch as the cyclist was loaded into the ambulance at about 2:45 p.m.
Woodruff Avenue remained closed following the incident while University Police investigated the scene. Campus Area Bus Service busses were rerouted due to the road closure Wednesday afternoon. The road was reopened sometime between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday.
The injured student’s condition was unknown at the time of publication.
The name of the truck driver was not immediately available.
In 2011, the League of American Bicyclists named OSU a Bicycle Friendly University, the only in Ohio, and the 26th institution to receive the honor.
Jody Dzuranin, a operations manager with Consider Biking, a Central Ohio group aimed at improving cycling advocacy and education, had not yet heard of the incident Wednesday evening, but said it’s important for all cyclists to comply with safety rules while riding.
“A bicycle is a vehicle, and the safest place to ride is where you’re seen and obeying,” she said.
Dzuranin suggested that students look into programs through the university such as How We Roll OSU.
Dzuranin said she had seen an increased number of crashes in Central Ohio recently, including one incident in Franklin County where a cyclist who was struck near Port Columbus International Airport last week.
You can give riders safety tips, Dzuranin said, but all crashes are different.
She said that while cyclists might be aware of the laws of the road, drivers might not be, and it’s important to always be cautious.
“Even when you have the right of way, still be alert to motorists and vehicles,” Dzuranin said. “You may have right of way, but you could be dead wrong.”