Ohio State Police have released records regarding a traffic crash investigation nearly four months after the investigation began.
The Sept. 5 accident occurred near a construction site on Woodruff Avenue, where first-year James Daniel Hughes was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk when a dump truck backed into him. He was transported to Wexner Medical Center immediately from the scene.
The Lantern obtained two binders containing a copy of the police report and administrative information regarding the incident Thursday morning that included eyewitness accounts and narratives from officers on scene, as well as information on the car and bicycle involved.
Hughes’ lawyer, Steve Crandall, has been handling media requests for inquiries on Hughes’ condition, and has repeatedly said he is concerned about the possibility of bias in the investigation if OSU is found to be at fault. He has also publicly stated his frustration with University Police for not releasing the report sooner.
In a previous interview with The Lantern, Crandall said he met with OSU Police on Oct. 8 and had been promised that a police report would be out that week, but no report was supplied. In November, Crandall said he had been informed that the report was awaiting approval from Capt. David Rose of University Police, which was expected to take a few days.
“This is becoming a case of one family against large state institutions, and that’s unacceptable,” Crandall said. “I’m afraid that Daniel’s case has been forgotten by the university and that, for them, it’s business as usual.”
University Police maintained that the investigation was still ongoing during that time, and according to the University Police log the investigation is still pending.
Hughes’ accident was one of several accidents in the campus area since the beginning of the semester. The day after Hughes’ accident, OSU student Yifan Gu was struck by a bicyclist near Chumley’s on High Street and was transported to the Medical Center with injuries.
Lindsey Barrett contributed to this article.
