A Cerritos College student was struck by a traffic control officer’s cart as she was riding her skateboard by the Student Center and CB Building, Thursday, Sept. 2.

Culinary Arts student Marcella Ballesteros, while not seriously injured, complained of lower-leg pain and was driven away to the campus police station where she later declined for a paradedic to respond.

Since the incident, Ballesteros has not been able to return to work and has even missed some class periods. “I work in a warehouse and I have to be on my feet. I was scheduled to go into work on Sept. 6 but [my lower leg] was still hurting. i went to see my doctor and she referred me to an orthopedic specialist and I will figure out if I need to get a MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging),” Ballesteros said.

The accident occurred when Ballesteros, who was riding westbound, collided with traffic officer Omar Anderson, who was driving a cart southbound.

The collision reportedly sent the student’s food and belongings to the cement sidewalk.

Anderson stated in a police report he “didn’t see the pedestrian until after the impact.”

While the police report says that Anderson had slowed down before he got to the intersection Ballesteros does not agree. “I wasn’t going very fast, when he hit me he wasn’t able to stop until 5 or 6 feet later.”

Undecided major, Fernando Ibara, witnessed the accident and said, “The [traffic control officer] was going fast, when they met in the intersection and he hit her. [Ballesteros’] backpack hit the windshield, her skateboard flipped and her food fell.”

While Vice President of Student Services and Assistant Superintendent, Stephen Johnson said, “Being here five years [accidents] have not been common, what is more often the case is that a cart will hit a light post or a railing,” Ibara says that this isn’t the first time he had witnessed an accident involving a traffic control officer in a cart.

“I’ve been coming here for a while and the traffic control officers are on the carts like crazy—it is actually the second instance I have seen—I have also seen them stop abruptly to avoid hitting students,” Ibara said.  

After the incident, Ballesteros received a warning from campus police to not ride her skateboard on campus and Anderson did not face any disciplinary action.

Cerritos College Chief of Police Richard Bukowiecki said,”The traffic control officer did not violate any department policies. You aren’t supposed to ride skateboards on campus, at all, so the student was in violation of the law in that respect and was given a warning.”

According to Bukowiecki, people riding in carts should not be traveling faster than at the pace of a “brisk walk.”  

“If students have concerns about the speed of the traffic control officers, they should come in and tell me.

“This is a rare instance,” Bukowiecki added.

Ballesteros disagrees that Anderson was not in violation of any policy, “There were people around me walking at a brisk walk, and [Anderson] was going faster than that. He would have hit me even if I was not on a skateboard, if he was driving slower I would have been able to stop or move out of the way.”

Other students are also convinced that the cause of the incident must have been speeding.

“Obviously [Anderson] was going fast if he couldn’t stop on time, those carts are not very heavy or hard to stop,” said culinary arts major Ivan Moreno.

Culinary arts major John Creer believes that the sole of the blame for the incident should have been with Anderson. “He was in the vehicle, just like driving in the street, he has to be aware of his surroundings. Someone on a skateboard is not going as fast as he is; he should be more aware.”

Cerritos College President Linda Lacy said,”I think it is really important to have the people that drive carts properly trained. The construction has made it difficult to maneuver around campus.”

While there is already a cart safety program in use at Cerritos College that, according to Johnson, is designed to promote safe use of the carts and has specific suggestions of how to use the carts correctly,  students, like undecided major Cassandra Robar, think more training is in order and students should help make the jobs easier for traffic control officers.

“If they go through training and still hit people, maybe they should have more intensive training, or if they are involved in an accident, they should attend driving school like the rest of us. In the same respect, students need to watch where they are going,” Robar said.