A student driver turning left onto Lake Parkway West was struck by a vehicle who ran a red light going northbound according to witnesses around 10:45 p.m. on Monday Feb. 15. The collision caused the northbound car to spin, hit the curb and flip over.
“The vehicle also struck a power pole and a meter,” UPD Chief Steven Moore said. “There were no injuries and the northbound vehicle had to be towed away.”
After the accident, FPL and Lee County traffic were called to the scene, turning the power off which subsequently caused the traffic light’s backup battery to start up.
“To avoid major backups, cones were deployed to close off the left turning lanes onto campus and cars exiting campus had to turn right,” Moore said.
On Tuesday Feb. 16 at 9 a.m. Moore sent out an email to students reminding them to register their cell phones with FGCU Alert, an alert messaging system that sends texts messages to students regarding campus information including traffic accidents, weather emergencies and other events.
“As soon as those emails went out about 120 additional people signed up for FGCU Alert,” Moore said.
FPL and Lee County worked through Tuesday morning and afternoon to correct damage to the light and surrounding areas. The light was repaired by one p.m.
To register for the FGCU Alert System visit www.fgcu.edu/alert.