Police complete investigation Student suffers injuries after collision with truck

Author: Caroline S. Stauffer

The Middlebury Police Department (MPD) investigation of the Jan. 18 accident in which a Middlebury recycling vehicle hit student Elizabeth DiCiccio '06 on the sidewalk connecting Atwater Halls A and B is nearly complete, according to Patrol Officer Ken Hawkins, who is overseeing the report.

Despite sustaining injuries in the torso area and being hospitalized, DiCiccio is back on campus and taking classes.

The MPD has interviewed witnesses Russell Johanson '06 and Teaching Assistant Michela Ronzani as well as Material Recovery Worker Chad Huntley, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident. Measurements were also taken after the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Service found DiCiccio.

The MPD account is consistent with the Middlebury College Public Safety records, as reported in the Jan. 26 issue of The Middlebury Campus. Hawkins said that after testing the truck, the MPD concurred with the Public Safety record in deeming the truck's backup lights and alarm were fully operational.

Hawkins emphasized that given the distance and angle of the truck in relation to the pedestrians, any visibility from the truck's mirrors would have been impossible. He also noted that it was raining when the collision occurred. "People who were trying to get fairly quickly from point A to B would not have seen the truck as if it were a bright, sunshiny day," he said.

The only piece of the report that remains to be completed is for an investigator to question DiCiccio. The inquiry must be made in person and was delayed because of February vacation.

Hawkins has not made a cause for fault for the accident and says he probably will not do so. He noted the circumstances surrounding the accident were unusual in that it occurred on a sidewalk, but that the sidewalk is frequently utilized by College vehicles. Furthermore, because the accident took place on private property, the procedures outlined in Vermont Statute 23, on Motor Vehicles, do not apply.

Once the report is filed, any consequential action will come from insurance companies or the College. "I can't imagine that there are any other emergency lights that you could put on to make them seem more notable," Hawkins said. "I wouldn't make a recommendation one way or the other and I am hesitant to say that consequences are necessary."

Hawkins concluded that the accident, "may be one of those rare cases where two objects met at the same time and it is extremely unfortunate."