A San Diego police vehicle struck a University of San Diego student near the college campus Wednesday morning, according to the college. The student later died.
The crash happened around 1:30 a.m. on Linda Vista Road near Goshen Street, in an area with student housing, while the officer was traveling westbound downhill.
San Diego police said an officer was driving down the road when he felt an impact. When the officer stopped to investigate, a man in his early 20s was in the roadway, SDPD spokesperson Lt. Cesar Jimenez said.
Medics were called and the man was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 3:35 a.m., SDPD said.
The University of San Diego confirmed in a statement the individual was a student. The University of San Diego campus community is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our students who was struck early this morning by a vehicle near the campus.
His identity was being withheld pending family notification. USD deferred further questions to San Diego police, which had its Traffic Unit and Collision Investigations Bureau looking into the circumstances of the crash.
In a news release, Lt. Jimenez said, “It is unclear, at this time, why the person entered the roadway,” Jimenez said in a news release. When asked if it appeared that the man had already been struck, Jimenez told NBC 7 that police are still investigating.
Ben Johnston, a USD student who lives nearby, says he and other students often risk crossing the street in that area since there are no marked crosswalks in that area connecting to the main campus road. He hopes Wednesday’s accident prompts the installation of more crosswalks and speed limit signs in the area.
The officer involved was not injured.
A Sig Alert was issued on Linda Vista Road for the investigation. Around 6:30 a.m., the patrol vehicle was towed away from the scene and the roadway was reopened.
Anyone with information on the case was asked to call police at (858) 495-7800.
