A female student was struck by a C-UMTD bus near First Street and Kirby Avenue around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“The bus was traveling westbound on Kirby and was attempting to make a left-hand turn,” said Capt. Roy Acree of the University of Illinois Police Department. “The victim had the walk sign (on) and that’s when she was struck by the bus. The bus driver was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian.”

Kirby Gamsby, senior in LAS and former IMC employee, was leaving Lot E-14 at the time of the accident. Gamsby said it was hard to see but she and her brother did notice a woman on the ground, trying to move. She did not see any passengers get off the bus but did notice a few cars trying to assess the situation.

“A couple of cars who didn’t really understand what was going on tried to go around the bus until they saw the woman on the ground. One car stayed and tried to help and one car backed up and left,” Gamsby said.

“The victim was transported to the hospital and is a visiting scholar (at the University),” Acree said.

Robert Patton, MTD director of operations, said the accident is still under investigation, and that it is difficult to say how the situation will be handled until they figure out exactly what happened.

Patton added that to avoid accidents, pedestrians should try to make eye contact with drivers as they’re crossing the street. He also said that pedestrians should stay aware of their surroundings and avoid distractions such as texting or talking on the phone.

Drivers of MTD buses undergo an eight week, comprehensive training program in which drivers learn customer service, driving routes and spend time in a simulator, Patton said. He said this makes it “one of the most comprehensive training programs in the country.”