A Saybrook College junior was in critical condition Tuesday evening after a collision with a moving Connecticut Transit bus in the afternoon in front of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall.
Wook Choe ’07 collided with the right rear side of the bus at 12:58 p.m. yesterday as it was making a right turn onto Prospect Street from Grove Street. Choe, who was accompanied by his mother at the time of the accident, was taken by ambulance to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, officials at the hospital said Choe was in intensive care and listed in critical condition. For privacy reasons, the hospital declined to provide further information about the extent of his injuries.
A CT Transit official at the scene of the accident said he only had a “sketchy” understanding of the incident because he had not yet seen an accident report.
“The bus was making a right-hand turn and the pedestrian, because it was making a right hand turn, walked into the side of the bus, near rear door, had a bruise on his forehead and was taken by ambulance to the hospital,” said Philip Fry, the official.
New Haven Police Department spokeswoman Bonnie Winchester said she could not comment on the incident as of yesterday.
Another CT Transit official who spoke to the driver of the bus following the incident but did not witness it himself said the driver told him the details of the incident.
“Our driver had the light, and he was turning right onto Prospect,” said the official, who declined to release his name. “For some reason, [Choe] walked into the rear side of the bus.”
Yusef Chater, a cart worker at Mamoun’s Falafel Cart on College Street by Woolsey Hall, was present at the time of the accident. Chater said he saw Choe lying on the ground after the incident, but he was moving when medical personnel began to assist him.
After a police investigation of the incident is completed, Fry said, CT Transit’s claims department will try to assess liability issues in the case.
Saybrook Master Mary Miller said she hopes Choe will make a swift recovery.
“He’s a beloved member of the community, so we look forward to having him back among us as soon as possible,” she said.