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The Rice Thresher
Phone:
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by ELIZABETH JARDINA AND BRIAN STOLER THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Two other students were seriously injured and taken by helicopter to Hermann Memorial Hospital. Hanszen College sophomore Brook Ames was in fair condition in the hospital at press time. Lovett College senior Michael Erfe was released yesterday afternoon. Members of the George R. Brown Forensics Society were returning to Rice in two rented vans after they competed in the National Parliamentary Debate Association Championships in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday. Five passengers suffered less serious injuries, and six other students in the vans were not injured. All passengers in the vans were wearing seat belts. The vans slowed to a stop in traffic while traveling southbound on Interstate 45 just before the intersection with Hardy Toll Road north of Houston. "We came around the corner and traffic was stopped," coach Dan West said. "We had to stop fairly quickly, but we still had plenty of space." Due to construction, the freeway was closed down to one lane southbound. A Ford F-250 pickup truck hit the back of the brown Ford Windstar minivan driven by assistant coach Chris Aspdal, which carried Henning, Ames, Erfe and two other students, at 10:35 p.m., according to Harris County Sheriff's Office reports. The truck, which was towing a gooseneck trailer, locked its brakes and was unable to stop before striking the minivan. The collision caused the minivan to hit the white Ford van driven by Brown College senior Scott Nilsen and carrying West along with the rest of the students. "I heard the screech of brakes behind us, and then I heard one impact and then our van was hit," Nilsen said. "I felt the second impact." The crash sent the vehicles off the road. "Our van veered off to the left and I was able to stop the van before it hit the concrete median," Nilsen said. "The other van veered off to the right." West immediately called 911 on his cellular phone. He then called the Rice Campus Police to notify the university of the accident, alerting the Crisis Management Team, a high-level group of administrative officials that coordinates efforts to respond to events that significantly affect Rice. Nilsen got out of the van to check on those in the minivan. "The impact forced the minivan under the rear bumper of our 15-passenger van," Nilsen said. "The front of the minivan was completely destroyed, the windshield was shattered and essentially the rear of the vehicle was also completely destroyed," Nilsen said. Nilsen said authorities arrived very quickly. Aspdal, Lovett College junior Jitu Sardar and Wiess College freshman Andrew Courtwright were able to exit the vehicle on their own, Nilsen said. Two teams of paramedics arrived. One team attended to Aspdal, Sardar and Courtwright, who were taken to Houston Northwest Memorial Hospital by ambulance. The other team attended to the students still in the minivan. "It took them a while to get Michael and Brook out of the van, and the life flights were already there, and they were flown off immediately," Nilsen said. Those in the lead van were injured less seriously than those in the minivan. West and Brown College junior Tim Werner were taken to the hospital by ambulance for noncritical injuries. The students who were not taken to the hospital remained in the lead van while paramedics attended to the minivan. "The folks who were in my van couldn't do more than watch and pray, I guess," Nilsen said. Two Rice police vehicles arrived on the scene and took the six students left in the van to Houston Northwest Memorial Hospital. These students joined the other members of the team, as well as West; his wife, Vicki Seefeldt West, a Study Abroad adviser; West family friend Jen Cooper, student media adviser; Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Catherine Clack and Campus Police officers, including Officer Pete Martinez. Associate Director of the Rice Counseling Center Michael Winters arrived at the hospital soon after. Winters led the group in a session discussing grief and loss and helping them prepare to return to campus. Wiess College Master Paula Hutchinson brought Wiess senior Robert Lundin, a forensics team member who did not attend the Omaha tournament, to the hospital and picked up Courtwright. The rest of the students were taken back to their rooms on campus by Campus Police. "I arrived back at my room at about quarter to six," Nilsen said. Interstate 45 was shut down for about six hours after the accident. Lundin and a friend of the Wests came to the Wests' house to answer the phone calls that came after the first media report appeared on the Associated Press wire at 5:51 a.m. Calls poured in from friends, family and people West knew from debate. "The outpouring from the [debate] community has been amazing," West said. He said they received about 100 calls Tuesday. Baker Masters Jim and Chris Copeland learned of the news Monday night. After notifying Henning's parents, the Copelands sent an e-mail to the college and posted announcements around the college about Henning's death. Vice President for Public Affairs Terry Shepard said that Rice began a review of its travel policies after four members of the Prairie View A&M University track team were killed in a van crash Feb. 10. The review is currently pending. Shepard said the Rice students and coaches were all wearing seat belts. "There are some accidents that can't be prevented by being careful," he said. - back -
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of: The Rice Thresher, Rice University MS-524, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA. The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu |
