Man drives car into Pollak Library entrance
Tim Petersen wrote this article for Cal State Fullerton’s Daily Titan. It is available for republication or reference. If you think their work is important, you can support it here.
A 97-year-old man hit the automated doors at the south entrance of the Pollak Library after driving his car through campus on March 18, according to the Cal State Fullerton Police.
Capt. Scot Willey said campus police received a call at around 4 p.m. regarding a potential traffic accident near the Pollak Library.
“We don’t typically get calls of a traffic accident there,” Willey said.
The man made contact with the door at the main entrance, only causing minor cosmetic damage, and no injuries were reported.
“The doors were still able to open and close and all that,” Willey said.
The man entered the campus near the Student Recreation Center pool and made his way south to the library. He told the police he was there to donate books.
“When he drove here, he just thought the area that he was driving on, the sidewalks and all that, was open for vehicles,” Willey said.
However, the man told the responding officers that he was only moving at about three mph. Willey said witnesses confirmed the man’s claims.
When the police arrived, Willey said that the man did not seem to be impaired or confused.
“Impairment is the first thing that they’re gonna look for to see if he was driving under any type of influence, which he was not,” Willey said.
He said the man was not charged with a crime or cited on the scene.
After speaking with the man, one of the responding police officers moved the man's car to a parking lot so he could leave the campus safely.
Willey said he has only experienced these situations about eight times in the 22 years he has worked on college campuses. He said the most common cause is drunk drivers.
“There’s a lot of areas around the campus that are accessible, but we do try to do our best at trying to keep those blocked in some way where at least makes it known that it’s not a roadway,” Willey said.
He added that students should expect to see facilities trucks and police cars, but if a vehicle looks out of place to call 911 or the department's non-emergency line.