DPS continues accident investigation
January 12, 1999
An investigation concerning two Iowa State students who were involved in a vehicle/pedestrian accident on campus Dec. 13 is still ongoing, said Lt. Isra Harahap of the Department of Public Safety.
Hue-Sung Kim, 27, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, was walking east across Bissell Drive when a black, 1989 Chevrolet Beretta turning left onto Bissell Drive from Osborn Drive collided with him, Harahap said.
Wayland Williamson, 21, sophomore in pre-business, was the driver of the car.
Although the investigation is not completed, major details of the accident are known, Harahap said.
“We determined that [Williamson] was not excessively speeding,” he said.
Harahap also said calculations showed that Williamson, of 2120 Lincoln Way, had stopped at the stop sign on Osborn Drive before colliding with Kim.
“However, it doesn’t really matter,” Harahap said. “When the driver was turning through that intersection, he always has an obligation to yield to pedestrians.”
Harahap said the cause of the accident currently is being blamed on the sunlight, which would have been shining directly into Williamson’s eyes as he turned onto Bissell Drive.
“Basically at this point we’re just waiting to talk to the victim,” Harahap said. Getting Kim’s statement probably will be the last element of the investigation, he said.
“We just kind of want to get his side of the story,” he said. “He just has a completely different perspective on the situation, obviously.”
Kim, of 4122 Westbrook Drive, was transported to Mary Greeley Medical Center after the collision where he was treated for serious injuries. He was later released from the hospital Dec. 26.