Penn Police motorcycle hits couple on Locust

A Penn Police motorcycle struck two pedestrians on Locust Walk Friday afternoon, sending a man and a woman -- both of whom are Drexel graduate students -- to the hospital with minor injuries.

Chief of Penn Police Mark Dorsey said that the Penn officer had been deployed to monitor bike racks around campus for signs of tampering, theft or suspicious activity.

Dorsey said that at the time of the accident, the officer was looking at a bike rack on the Walk while traveling at a very low rate of speed -- below 5 miles per hour.

While the officer briefly diverted his attention to examine the rack, Dorsey said, he failed to notice the man and woman, who had walked in front of his bike.

The motorcycle struck the couple, who are both 26.

The male victim was struck, but not run over. He sustained a laceration to his back that required hospital treatment. He was, however, able to leave the scene under his own power.

The woman fared less well. Witnesses said that the motorcycle rolled over one of her legs, causing an ankle injury.

Paramedics responded to the scene, taking the woman away from Locust Walk on a stretcher and transporting her several blocks via ambulance to HUP.

Dorsey did not have any further update on the victims' conditions.

He declined to release the name of the officer involved in the incident.

Eyewitness accounts of the accident differ somewhat from the official police version of events.

College senior Sam Nathan was on Locust Walk to promote the weekend shows of the Mask and Wig Club, of which he is a member.

Nathan said that the officer was traveling east on Locust Walk, going "way too fast" and weaving around pedestrians.

The source of distraction, Nathan said, was that the officer reached out to grab a flyer that the New Spirit of Penn Gospel Choir was distributing.

Dorsey said that motorcycles are not normally assigned to duty on Locust Walk but that depending on the availability of bike-mounted officers who normally check the bike racks, assignments can change.

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