Senior Hannah Robino was involved in a car accident outside of Westside High School’s west parking lot on Tuesday, October 1, around 11:00 a.m. Social Studies Instructor Nathan Bramley and Business Instructor Jeanette Kleppinger witnessed the accident occur and took action in helping both parties involved. Robino said that she was attempting to turn left onto Pacific Street and could not see any cars coming, causing her to think that it was safe to turn.

“The fence that’s on the wall of [Pacific] Street, it kind of makes it hard to see the cars coming,” Robino said. “I just didn’t see [the car coming], so I pulled out at the last minute. I couldn’t just stop, otherwise they would have hit me head on, so I just sped up to go around them, and they just ended up hitting the back end of my car.”

Robino said that she thinks changing the fence along Pacific Street in the west parking lot is necessary, due to many classmates experiencing similar situations as her. 

“[The school] needs to do something about [the fence],” Robino said. “I’ve had multiple people tell me that they’ve almost gotten in an accident there, too. They need to take it down, or put a stoplight there or something, because it would even help the traffic after school; it’s always backed up.”

Bramley said that he was behind Robino, also waiting to turn, when the accident happened.

“[Robino] was ahead of me [in the parking lot], and as she pulled out, bam, somebody hit her,” Bramley said. “It happened really quick.”

Bramley said that the other woman involved in the accident appeared to be injured, so he called 911.

“I just got out [of my car and] kind of went out [into the road] to block the cars that were coming in,” Bramley said. “I went to [Robino] and the [other] lady, and asked if [the other lady involved] was okay, and she said ‘no’, so I called 911.”

Robino said that Bramley and Kleppinger assisting her and the other woman involved in the accident helped her calm down and effectively handle the situation. 

“I was very nervous because it was the first accident I have been in with me driving or with other people driving,” Robino said. “I was just in shock, so I was crying a little bit, because I was scared to get in trouble, scared of the consequences, but [Bramley and Kleppinger] did help me calm down [and] make sure everything was ok.”

Senior MacKenzie Wies was in Discrete Mathematics during the time the accident occurred and said that her class had a view of the accident through the windows in their classroom.

“I was in class [when the accident occurred],” Wies said. “Everybody was just like ‘oh look what happened’, and everyone was like ‘oh Mr. Koch can we go outside and help?’” 

Wies describes her initial reaction to the accident.

“I was really shocked [when the accident happened],” Wies said. “I was wondering who it was.”

Bramley said that he believes the other woman involved in the accident did not have to go to the hospital.

“I stayed with the other lady until the police came and the firemen came,” Bramley said. “They put her on a stretcher [and into an ambulance]; I don’t think she went to the hospital, [though].”

Robino said that she initially did not feel hurt when the accident occurred but has experienced some discomfort since.

“Physically, when [the accident] happened, I didn’t think I was injured,” Robino said. “I was just in shock and didn’t feel any pain. A couple days after, my neck and back started hurting.”

Bramley said that although he felt calm during the accident, his emotions changed afterwards. 

“I felt really calm the whole time [during the accident],” Bramley said. “Then I went to Subway to get my sandwich and then I’m like shaking [with] an adrenaline rush afterwards. [After it all happened], I was glad everybody was okay.”

Robino said that she is thankful for the kind actions of Bramley and Kleppinger.

“I very much appreciated [the teachers and students coming to help with the accident],” Robino said. “I thought it was really nice. Just the simple act of them showing that they cared [was something] I really appreciated; [the accident] really took a toll [on me].”