At around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 6, two Andover students were struck by a car at the Bell Tower crosswalk on Main Street. No severe damage was inflicted from the incident, and the students returned to campus on Thursday, February 7.
Police cars and fire trucks arrived at the scene to lift the students to safety. The students received immediate medical attention by the first responders, Lawrence General Hospital (LGH) medical providers, and Rebecca M. Sykes Wellness Center care providers.
The administration is currently working on long term solutions to ensure student safety, according to Jennifer Elliott ’94, Dean of Students and Residential Life. For now, temporary changes are being implemented.
“We will keep the crosswalk open until 4 PM, and we will staff the crosswalk in the morning during the week to make sure that pedestrians are pressing the button and ensuring cars have slowed before crossing,” wrote Elliott in a campus-wide email on Thursday.
“At 4PM we will place physical barriers in front of the crosswalk and shut it down until sign in (every day of the week). We will also staff the crosswalk to promote compliance,” continued Elliott.
Elliott hopes that students will hold each other accountable and act as role-models to ensure campus safety.
“We seek your partnership in making our campus safer. We implore you to model safe decision making, to hold each other accountable (saying something in the moment) and to shift our pedestrian patterns,” wrote Elliott.
