Public Safety Involved in Car Crash on Cretin Avenue During Track Championships – TommieMedia

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A vehicle collision occurred Thursday afternoon in front of the Anderson Student Center turnaround on Cretin Avenue.

The collision between St. Thomas student Ellie Tragiai’s car and a public safety vehicle occurred due to traffic problems caused by the Summit League outdoor track and field championships at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. The public safety officer was attempting to exit the turnaround when Tragiai emerged from behind a parked Omaha team bus.

“The police came here, so I stopped, and right there I was stopped behind the bus, and then I drove back out when the police left,” Tragiai said. “The pub safe came out, didn’t see me and hit me head-on.”

The front end of Tragiai’s white Ford was damaged in the collision.

Aaron Fimon, public safety manager at the St. Paul campus, said a high-speed police chase involving Cretin — which had nothing to do with the St. Thomas community — was the cause of the disturbance.

A public safety officer was attempting to flag down drivers to clear the way for police cars when another driver in a gray Toyota, driving behind Tragiai, became involved as they attempted to move around, apparently following the officer’s instructions didn’t understand, it says Fimon..

They stopped, at which point Tragiai said the driver and a public safety officer began yelling at each other until they were separated by a St. Paul police officer.

Fimon said the situation was ultimately resolved, adding that if there had been any complaints against a public security official, none were officially addressed to him.

Kevin Lynch can be reached at [email protected].