One student was hospitalized and another sustained minor injuries when their shared bicycle collided with a car at the intersection of McCartney Street and High Street early last Sunday morning. The accident is being investigated jointly by Public Safety and Easton PD.
According to Liam Thompson ‘24, who was in the vehicle that was struck, the bicycle ran a stop sign and collided with the passenger side door of the vehicle.
“The kid was sitting on the front of the bike,” Thompson said of one of the injured students. “It was two kids on the bike.”
Sebastian Bjorkeson ’25 was the student on the handlebars of the bike during the crash. He wrote in an email that he and his friend were “going for a bike ride at a fairly late hour, as it was a very nice night and it seemed like a fun lighthearted idea.”
“We came to an intersection, near the college store, where a car came out of our blind spot and unfortunately, we were unable to stop in time,” he wrote. “The car being in our blind spot made the crash fairly bad, as we had no idea it was there until it was too late.”
According to EPD Lieutenant of Patrol Joseph Alonzo, neither of the students on the bicycle were wearing helmets.
After exiting the car and seeing the situation – in which Bjorkeson was initially unresponsive – Thompson reported the incident to Public Safety at 1:44 a.m.
“I said something along the lines of, ‘A student just, like, hit a car,’” Thompson said. “’He needs medical assistance.’”
Thompson said that a Public Safety officer arrived at the scene in about 40 seconds. An officer then contacted Easton EMS. There was a brief struggle between Bjorkerson, who initially resisted medical attention after gaining consciousness and standing up, and the arriving officers.
“According to stories and events that happened from other people’s perspectives, some say I was tackled, while some say I fought back against some officers. I only have some video from some of my close friends of my being pinned to the ground by three officers, although I’m still not sure why. It is still unclear to me, and an issue I am still trying to resolve,” Bjorkeson wrote.
Easton Fire Department, Easton PD and Easton EMS all additionally arrived at the scene. Alonzo said that the operator of the bicycle, whose name was not provided, will be charged with a traffic violation.
After a conversation with Public Safety and the Easton Police Department, Thompson said that the injured student “[seemed] to be totally aware” and walked to the ambulance in which he was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital.
Tess Boyler ‘25 is a friend of Bjokerson. She reported that he was “only in the hospital for about 12 hours” and “has been doing really great since” despite stitches and a fractured nasal bone.
“My current condition … is getting much better,” Bjorkerson confirmed. “I should be healed almost back to 100% in the next week or two.”
