Near collision at Stewart dining hall

By Emily Ham

Sodexo staff members and Troy students and faculty were alarmed at lunchtime on Wednesday as a Ford Ranger came within some three feet of crashing into the front doors of Stewart Dining Hall.

According to a miscellaneous report filed on April 22, officers were dispatched to Stewart at 12:04 p.m. because 'someone was trying to drive their vehicle into the dining hall.'

'As I approached the truck, I noticed an older black male to the left side of the truck just a few feet away from the truck sitting on the ground,' said Lt. Collins Davis of the Troy University police.

'He was very disoriented,' Lt. Davis said, 'and no smell of alcohol was about him.'

Police at the scene found no evidence of use of alcohol, and the man was found to have suffered a severe drop in blood sugar due to his diabetes.

'We contacted CARE ambulance and they responded to the scene. They were able to check him and diagnosed the problem and then they handled it from there,' Lt. Davis said.

In an effort to respect the man's privacy due the incident being caused by medical issues and not criminal activity, the name of the man does not appear on police reports.

According to Lt. Davis, a Sodexo employee saw the truck approaching the front doors of the dining hall and ran out to the vehicle to gain the attention of the driver.

'I take it he put the brakes on,' he said.

Lt. Davis also said a student assisted in bringing the truck to a complete stop.

'We had a student got in, put the truck in gear and took the key out,' he said SGA President Jonathan Davis was that student.

'I was driving up toward SAGA from the lagoon area. I noticed a white truck in front of me swerving as if the driver were drunk,' Davis said.

Davis said he passed the man and continued on to Stewart for lunch when he encountered the truck again.

'I saw the man's truck literally two feet from Stewart Dining Hall doors,' Davis said.

'I immediately walked up to the car and then proceeded to the passenger's door,' Davis added, 'I then opened it and reached for the keys because the car was still in drive.'

'I put the car in park, after repeatedly asking the man to get out of the car. He eventually got out, and I handed the keys to the cafeteria lady and got in line to get something to eat,' Davis said.

Within minutes of being hooked to an IV, the driver was coherent and responding normally to inquires from police officers and CARE drivers.

Davis said he didn't stay around for the arrival of the paramedics so he didn't know what was the matter with the driver until he spoke with an eye-witness.

'From the way he was acting, he seemed to have been unaware of his actions. I hope he can get the help he needs. I am so glad that the situation was not as I thought,' Davis said.