On the way back from getting its windshield replaced at West Herr Ford, one of the Student Association's Ford Freestars was involved in a side-impact collision. At the north corner of Audubon Parkway and Frontier Road, a black Ford Taurus stuck the driver side of the red van.
"It was 100 percent his fault," said Scott Swamback, SA's transportation director. He was driving the van back to campus. Neither he nor the other driver was injured.
Swamback had stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, he proceeded through the intersection when he was struck, according to an SA statement. The van's airbags did not deploy, while only the Taurus's passenger side airbag released.
"According to witnesses on the scene, Swamback had the right-of-way and was not at fault in the accident," the SA statement said.
Three University Police units responded to the scene. A John's Towing truck and AAA flatbed were called in to remove the damaged vehicles.
Greg Freeney, the driver of the John's Towing truck, said that these types of accidents are common, especially when people are distracted enough to slide through an intersection. He went on to suggest that cell phones can be a major instigator of car accidents.
The van has been taken to an automobile shop, and SA's insurance agency has been contacted, the SA statement said.
In all, SA owns 11 vehicles for which Swamback is responsible: ten Ford vans and one Ford F-250.
"They get a lot of abuse, a lot of miles," said Robert Pape, SA's director of communication.
According to Pape and SA Treasurer John Martin, none of the SA vehicles have been involved in accidents recently. However, two years ago, a group of college students in Montana died when they were hauling a too large a load with an ordinary van.
"The reason we bought Clifford (SA's red truck) was for the safety of our club members," Martin said.
All of the SA vehicles are equipped with GPS so that the locations and speeds can be monitored.
"We can keep track of our assets," Martin said.
Before any SA members are allowed to drive the vans, they must go through thorough van testing and a license background check, Pape said.
