A car accident on South Street Sunday night sent three students to the hospital with serious injuries. The students, an 18-year-old male, an 18-year-old female and a 22-year-old female were crossing the street at 6:24 p.m. at the crosswalk by the Foster Mods when they were hit by a car headed northbound, according to a Feb. 2 press release from the Waltham Police Department. 

The victims, all undergraduate students, were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with serious injuries. In an interview with the Justice, Stephanie Guyotte, a spokesperson for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, said that two of the victims have since been released from the hospital and the third is in stable condition as of 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

According to the statement, the driver of the vehicle was a 42-year-old resident of Belmont, Mass. He was not found to be impaired by any substances at the time of the accident. According to Guyotte, the investigation is still ongoing. The press release stated that "charges against the operator will be determined after the investigation is complete."

Elan Kane '16 was walking from East Quad to the Foster Mods and was near the Stoneman Building when he heard the collision.

"The crash almost sounded like snow being shoveled," he said in an interview with the Justice.

Kane said he heard someone yelling "I'm going to die, I'm going to die" and another person reassuring them that they would not. He recalled seeing one person on the ground and another on the sidewalk, but did not know who was yelling. According to Kane, another driver got out of his car to help the person on the ground. Kane said he did not see whether the lights at the crosswalk were blinking.

South Street has a history of accidents involving pedestrians. In 2005, a student crossing the road was struck by a car driven by an elderly woman and suffered minor injuries. According to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan in a Nov. 8, 2005 article in the Justice, a pedestrian crossing South Street was also hit in November 2000 and another in November 2002.
In 2006, the city of Waltham installed two button-activated blinking yellow traffic lights at the crosswalk. The $20,000 project was initially requested by students living in the Foster Mods three years prior. In a Sept. 26, 2006 Justice article, Waltham Transportation Director Franklin Ching expressed concern that the lights would give pedestrians a "false sense of security," as the law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in the street, but not necessarily for those waiting to cross. According to Ching, many pedestrians walk into the street anyway.
In 2007, a first-year student was hit while crossing South Street in front of the main gate, suffering minor injuries.

In 2008, the University stationed a police officer at the crosswalk during random times to ensure that students used the blinking lights when crossing South Street. In a Sept. 23, 2008 Justice article, Waltham Ward 7 Councilor Joseph Giordano, who represents Brandeis in the City Council, said he was concerned that many students were not using the crosswalk lights.

A Nov. 6, 2009 police log entry in the Justice stated that University Police "received several calls about a pedestrian struck by a car in the crosswalk at South Street and the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center."

In 2010, Waltham police officers were again stationed at the South Street crosswalk to both make sure students were using the lights and to issue citations for cars that were speeding or not stopping for pedestrians, according to Callahan.

In the article, Callahan said that Waltham police officers have given 20 to 40 citations per day to drivers for speeding on South Street and that the addition of police officers helped to slow down cars.

When asked if any safety measures will be adopted in the near future, Callahan, in an email to the Justice, referred to an email he sent to the student body yesterday urging students to take precautions when crossing and driving along South Street.

-Marissa Ditkowsky and Andrew Wingens contributed reporting.

Editor's Note: Elan Kane '16 is on the Justice Sports staff.