USC film and television student Anna Cappello was struck by a vehicle at the 32nd Street and Hoover Street intersection on Tuesday afternoon. An hour later, another USC student was riding his bicycle at the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Vermont Avenue when he was hit by a vehicle.
The two collisions marked the third and fourth traffic accidents six days into October, according to Department of Public Safety (DPS) logs. Yesterday’s crashes, which remain under investigation, happened within a 15-minute walk from one another.
“In the corner of my eye, I saw this woman coming at me in a car,” Cappello said. “I basically just braced myself for the hit and, 15 feet later, I was on the ground.”
In the last month, there have been seven traffic collisions in which a vehicle has struck another vehicle, a pedestrian or a person on a bicycle. Students are concerned about the increasing number of collisions and DPS is weighing its options to make campus safer.
Three of the traffic collisions in the last month have occurred on Jefferson Boulevard, which has been the site of nine accidents since this school year’s DPS daily crime and fire logs were made available on July 14.
Cappello said she “blacked out” once she was hit by the passing car and has been asking friends and acquaintances to help her piece the collision together since.
Cappello and the other student were taken to a hospital to receive treatment for non-life threatening injuries. Cappello suffered abrasions on her arms and knees, whiplash in her neck and a swollen ankle and hip.
“Jefferson is a high volume thoroughfare, which can generate some high speeds at certain times, so we want students to beware and take reasonable precautions [to] obey the rules and avoid being injured,” DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle said.
Many students living off campus stay north of Jefferson Boulevard and must pass by that area to get to class.
“All anyone has to do is go stand at that intersection at 10 o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock in the morning when students are coming and going to class, you can see how congested it gets,” Carlisle said.
DPS records show a trend for traffic collisions is rising. Ninety-eight related accidents have been reported since the beginning of the calendar year.
This uptick can be attributed, Carlisle said, to more students and much heavier traffic — especially given that students were off campus last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some students are already taking extra precautions.
“I really try to look both ways, because I have seen people who are walking be hit by bikes, by skateboards, seen skateboarders hit by cars or bikers,” Katie O’Hara, a senior psychology major who saw Cappello’s collision, said. “So I really just try to look in all directions and make sure I’m not on my phone.”
In response to the rise in traffic collisions, Carlisle said that DPS is discussing a campus-wide traffic safety educational campaign that would make the USC community aware of the “dos and don’ts” when riding a vehicle or walking around campus.
Another possible solution that DPS has previously considered, but Carlisle said is hesitant to implement, is working alongside the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division to increase safety on and around campus.
“We prefer the education [route] but if we continue to see an increase in collisions, that’s something we may wish to consider,” Carlisle said.
Cappello agrees that something must change to make walking and riding around campus safer. The consequences of collisions such as her own ends up being felt all the way into the classroom, where Cappello is again feeling the impact of yesterday’s accident.
“I can barely write with my right hand, so I can already feel the anxiety and pressure of the fact that this is going to set me back,” she said.
DPS is also particularly concerned about recent collisions involving motorized scooters.
On Sept. 17, sophomore economics major Ty Kawamura was struck by an SUV on 28th Street near Frat Row while on his electric scooter. Kappa Alpha Fraternity, of which Kawamura is the treasurer, said he suffered several skull fractures, a lacerated liver, a collapsed lung and other major injuries.
Five electric scooter-related accidents happened last month, according to DPS logs. Four incidents resulted in injuries to the rider.