Escort van rear-ends 2 cars on Walnut St.

A University Escort Service van rear-ended two other vehicles on the 3900 block of Walnut Street Sunday night, causing minor injuries to one person, University Police officials said yesterday. The accident was the second time in four months an Escort van has been involved in a traffic accident near campus. Stephen Carey, assistant director of the University's Department of Transportation and Parking, said yesterday that due to the rainy weather that evening, the van, carrying no passengers, skidded and collided with another vehicle causing minor damage to both vehicles. Carey said the incident was entirely due to the inclement weather and that the driver was not at fault. Carey would not release the name of the driver involved. "There were numerous severe downpours that evening," Carey said. "And this incident was just the result of slippery conditions on the road." Carey said that he had no knowledge of the third vehicle involved or of the person taken to HUP with minor injuries. "To the best of my knowledge, there was no one else in the Escort van and there were no injuries to anyone involved," Carey said. In November, an Escort van was struck while trying to turn near 30th Street. After that incident, the two students who were in the van said that the driver -- who they claimed was at fault for the accident -- did not seem to care what had happened. The driver of the van was subsequently relieved of his duties while officials conducted an investigation. Carey said yesterday that all Escort drivers receive mandatory training through his department and go through an additional mandatory training program given through the Department of Risk Management before they are allowed to drive a University vehicle.

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