Shuttle Bus Strikes Student's Father During Move Out

The father of a Harvard junior was struck by a University shuttle in front of Dunster House this afternoon after he fell while loading his daughter’s belongings into their car.

The student, Christine M. Fitzgerald ’07, said that her father, who was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for evaluation, is doing well.

“All reports are that he’s fine,” she said. “The first scan looks OK. And they’re stitching him up, and they’re going to keep him overnight for observation.”

Fitzgerald’s family had been helping the Dunster resident pack her things into their minivan while it was parked on Cowperthwaithe Street.

“My mom, in closing the trunk of the car, didn’t realize my dad was so close, and hit the top of his head, which sent him falling backwards,” Fitzgerald said.

“He then fell backwards, right as the bus was going by,” said James Green, a Cambridge Police Department (CPD) officer who was at the scene.

Fasil Mekonnen, a University Operations Services employee, said that he had just informed the man about the 20-minute parking limit and was walking away when he heard the screams.

“I turned around to see him falling to the ground,” he said. “He bounced back, hit the shuttle, and bounced to the ground. There was a whole lot of screaming, and I saw him bleeding.”

Mekonnen said that bystanders hurried over immediately. Within minutes, he said, an ambulance had arrived to rush the man to the hospital.

“I was really panicked,” Mekonnen said. “I’ve never seen that before.”

According to Harvard University Police Department spokesman Steven G. Catalano, the incident isn’t being investigated as a criminal matter.

“That individual was not hit by the shuttle bus. He fell down in front of it,” he said. “That’s truly a medical call.”

Mekonnen said that the shuttle bus driver acted quickly in response to the accident.

“The bus driver did a good job, he stopped right when he heard the screams,” he said. “If he’d kept going, he’d probably have run him over.”

Fitzgerald said the shuttle bus driver was apologetic and acted with the utmost professionalism.

Green wouldn’t comment any further on the incident. “It’s still under investigation [by CPD],” he said.

—Robin M. Peguero contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Reed B. Rayman can be reached at rrayman@fas.harvard.edu