Traffic Safety Questioned After Student Hit by Car

An undergraduate was slightly injured Wednesday evening in a hit-and-run car accident in Harvard Square.

Michael A. Hill ’02 was hit while crossing Mt. Auburn Street at around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday evening on his way home from Lamont Library.

According to Hill, the driver slowed down after hitting him but never actually stopped to check on his condition.

Another pedestrian, who was a witness to the accident, recorded the licence plate of the vehicle and reported it to the Cambridge Police Department. Frank D. Pasquarello, spokesperson for the Cambridge Police Department, said that as of yesterday afternoon no arrest had been made.

Hill, who was knocked to the ground by the collision with the car, walked away from the accident with scratches on his leg and hand.

This accident marks the second hit-and-run accident in Harvard Square within the last week. Last Thursday night a woman was hit by a pick-up truck next to the Harvard Book Store.

Rohit Chopra ’04, who is serving on a city committee to plan a redesign of the Square, said he was saddened though not surprised by such accidents.

“This is going to keep continuing until there are changes in the physical landscape [of the city],” Chopra said.

In order to improve safety for pedestrians in the Square, the Undergraduate Council passed a resolution during fall 2000 asking the city to install more signs saying “Yield to Pedestrians.”

“We sent letters to the city, and passed resolutions to try to get more signs or speed bumps on Mass. Ave. and Mt. Auburn,” Chopra said, who also serves as the chair of the council’s Student Affairs Committee. “The optimal situation would be of the Sheraton Commander—there’s a big drum in the middle of the road asking [drivers] to yield to pedestrians.”

As a result of the December 2000 death of Shira B. Palmer-Sherman ’02, who was struck by a car while crossing Eliot Street outside of Charlie’s Kitchen, Cambridge created the Harvard Square Design Committee of which Chopra was the only undergraduate member.

“The city needs to do more to slow down the traffic,” Chopra said. “It needs to be clear that it’s against the law for cars not to stop for pedestrians in cross walks.”