It’s expected that sometime in a student’s high school experience they will be hit by another car. Many students have been in this sort of accident, but unlike Ericha, these students were in cars and knew who hit them.
“It’s a good thing that I’m the height that I am. If I had been any taller, it would have broken my legs, or it would have been my head if I was any shorter,” recounts Junior, Ericha Golder, who was pinned between two cars in Bingham’s front parking lot on Wednesday, October 31st.
Ericha returned to her car with her friend Jacob Parks, to retrieve a paper. While she placed the paper in a folder, the adjacent car began to back out of its space. “He was backing out and when I saw that he was getting close I pushed Ericha, so instead of hitting her directly, it only got her side,” said Jacob Parks, a junior. Confused as to why she had been pushed, Ericha turned around, becoming pinned between the front right bumper of the adjacent red SUV and her car. Afterwards, she proceeded to go into shock.
“You know how you have those dreams that are like ‘oh, is that a dream or was that real life?’ …that’s what I was going through.”
The driver of the SUV appeared to be unaware of the event that had just taken place and drove away.
“I don’t think that he even knew that he hit me.”
After spending 2nd period in the Hospital, Ericha was diagnosed with a bruised kidney and ribs. “I can’t twist or move, it feels like I have a wooden board tied to my back.”
“You need to be aware of everything, look all around your car, not just in the back.”
After the second pedestrian-related accident on school property this year, the question is raised as to the safety of the parking lots. “Accidents happen wherever you are, the front and the back parking lots are about the same,” Jacob says, “If he wouldn’t have hit her, he would have hit her car, so something bad would have happened no matter what.”
