Boston College officials have criticized the MBTA and its investigation of the collision between a Green Line trolley and a student-filled Jeep that occurred on Saturday, April 24.
The MBTA failed to "present an unbiased investigation of the facts," University Spokesman Jack Dunn said.
"As a result of our discussions with the students, we have serious concerns about the MBTA's seemingly deliberate campaign to assign full blame for this unfortunate incident on our students," Dunn said.
Last Monday afternoon, administrators from the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD) met with the students who were in the Jeep at the time of the accident, at which point the administrators determined that student testimony differed from what had previously been reported by the MBTA.
"Some of the discrepancies include the MBTA's portrayal of the accident as having been caused by a student operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol," Dunn said. "The MBTA's insinuation of alcohol being the cause of this accident is untrue."
On the Sunday after the incident, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo told The Heights that the driver of the trolley witnessed students exiting the Jeep and picking up what appeared to be containers of alcohol. But it was not until the Monday after the incident, when the police report was released, that it was confirmed that the driver of the vehicle, Jane Stanton, A&S '13, had not been drinking on the night of the accident.
According to the MBTA police report, an officer met with Stanton at about 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, when the officer concluded that Stanton had not been drinking at any point during the previous evening due to an allergy to alcohol.
"The MBTA has an obligation to present an unbiased investigation of the facts, and it appears that they may not have fulfilled this responsibility in this case," Dunn said.
Sheila Shaw Horton, dean for student development, said that she too had doubts about the MBTA's presentation of the students' involvement in the accident. Horton said that administrators from the ODSD met with the students shortly after the accident.
Dunn said that, in discussions with the students, they "vehemently deny that they were driving recklessly." He said, "Instead, they claim that they were trying to turn at the legal turn-around at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Greycliff Road, and that traffic on Commonwealth Avenue prevented them from completing the turn before they were struck by the trolley."
At 11:58 p.m. on Saturday, the BC Police Department first reported that a car had struck an MBTA train.
According to the initial police report by the MBTA, the driver of the trolley said that when the trolley was approximately 100 yards from the Greycliff Ave. crossing, the Jeep "appeared to start crossing the right of way in front of [the trolley]." At that point, the operator of the trolley told police that he sounded his horn and activated the trolley's emergency brakes.
Later in the police report, it is stated that the Jeep was traveling westbound on Commonwealth Ave. when it turned southbound and entered the trolley's right of way. According to the report, "Upon entering the right of way, the trolley struck the vehicle in the driver's side." The police report stated that the trolley was moving at about 30 miles per hour when it hit the Jeep.
A student who was in the car at the time of the accident said that Stanton may have been distracted by another car that was in front of the Jeep on Commonwealth Ave., and that it may have caused Stanton to not spot the oncoming trolley.
In the aftermath of the accident, the students are trying to recover from injuries to finish the semester. "Most of the doctors said that we were lucky to be alive, that in a crash like this we should have been dead," said the same student, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Dunn said that the students claimed that they did not run from the scene in an effort to escape police, but that those who were not at the scene when police arrived had left in search of medical assistance. He said, however, that students would still be held accountable by the University for their actions that night.
"The Boston College students used poor judgment in being in a car with open and closed containers of alcohol, even though the designated driver was not drinking," Dunn said. He said that, upon completion of the MBTA's investigation, the University would impose any sanctions it deemed appropriate.
According to the police report, three of the students who left the scene of the accident were found by police at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Allston. All three were treated for minor head, back, and neck injuries and released.
"I wasn't thinking, ‘Oh man, I don't want to get caught' – I gave the police all my information when they asked for it. I just thought, ‘I need to get out of here,'" said the same student. After leaving, the students, who said they were covered in blood and disoriented, were taken in by a classmate and sent to the hospital.
Of the 10 passengers in the Jeep involved in the crash, Elizabeth Motley, A&S '13, suffered from a fractured brow bone, and Jane Stanton, the driver of the vehicle and A&S '13, endured facial lacerations that required numerous stitches. According to the police report, Stanton, Motley, Patrick Wey, CSOM '13, and Tina DiLandry were all hospitalized with head, back, and neck injuries.
"The night of the accident, the people that went to visit Jane said she was basically unrecognizable," said the passenger. Stanton, released last week from the hospital, has since left school for the semester to recover privately with her family. Several others in the vehicle sustained serious concussions for which they are currently being treated.
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10 comments
The real problem this article is addressing is the fact that the MBTA was painting a picture that may not have been entirely accurate - for example, insinuating that the driver of the car had been drinking for the first 48 hours or so after the accident. Making broad statements without having all the facts, or choosing to consider all the facts that have been presented to you, can lead to ignorant statements. I would hope before you pass judgment on my fellow students and the administration of my university you would take the time to do your research and not jump to ill-informed conclusions.
Students "who veered into the trolley". Actually, the trolley hit THEM. (I'm not saying the accident was the fault of the T driver, but what I'm saying is you're grossly misrepresenting the accident by stating that the car drove into a trolley as opposed to being hit while making a LEGAL UTURN on the tracks. Let's put you in a car on the train tracks with a train 100ft away speeding toward you and see what you do. Maybe you'll swerve (which, would actually place you further down the tracks, genius), maybe you'll drive into traffic on Comm Ave, or maybe you'll freeze and panic, as I'm sure this girl did. As to your other suggestion, that she stop...she was stopped. That's what caused the accident in the first place. She was stopped on the train tracks. Should they have had alcohol in the car? Absolutely not. And most people who've driven up and down Comm Ave know better than to wait on the tracks to make a Uturn. And for the other part of the article that you clearly didn't read: The students are being held accountable for their actions and the University is imposing the appropriate sanctions. Sweet pun, by the way, but the word is reckless. Clearly you didn't take any college English classes because along with poor spelling you demonstrate ZERO reading comprehension.You're disgusting. Now get off our newspaper website.
The T does not have to slow down and stop for cars crossing the tracks. Like EVERY other level crossing in the world the train has the right of way and is in no way obligated to slow down or stop. If you see a train anywhere in the vicinity you don't turn onto the tracks. Of course it's hard to see the train coming when you and your 9 other drunk, underage, college idiots are in a vehicle meant to seat 5.