An AU shuttle driver sustained minor injuries in an accident Sunday, when an AU shuttle crashed into a utility pole and tree on Nebraska Avenue around 8 a.m.
The driver was the only person in the shuttle when the accident occurred. He was awake and sitting on the sidewalk when police arrived, according to Officer B. Allen with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Command Information Center.
The driver was transported to George Washington University Hospital, according to Shuttle Operations Manager Alef Worku, who said the driver was doing fine on Sunday. His condition was still being evaluated Monday morning, according to a statement from Director of Facilities Management William Suter.
The crash occurred across the street from Nebraska Hall, and police blocked off Nebraska Avenue at Ward Circle, causing delays in the AU shuttle routes and blocking traffic on Nebraska Avenue for hours.
An MPD investigation concluded that the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a fixed object, according to Officer Tisha Gant. MPD had not released a report as of Monday afternoon.
Facilities Management is in the process of determining the cost of damage to the shuttle, which was towed to campus and is out of service, Suter said in an e-mail.
“Until we have a better sense of the cause of the accident it is premature to make any near or long term recommendations,” Suter said in the e-mail.
No one has contacted AU involving reimbursement for damages to the tree and the utility pole. PEPCO, an electric service provider, was called to attend to downed power lines, according to Allen.
An AU Alert was sent to students on Sunday around 10:00 a.m. saying the shuttles were running with “major delays” and on different routes, picking up at only two main campus stops, the Washington College of Law and the Tenley Metro stop. At 2:30, an AU Alert was released stating that shuttle services had resumed normal operations with “minor delays.”
In 2007, an AU shuttle crashed into a sign at the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security on Nebraska Avenue, not far from Sunday’s accident, The Eagle previously reported. The shuttle had swerved to avoid hitting a car. No injuries occurred in that accident.
kdakin@theeagleonline.com
