Student hit by car, sent to HUP

A male University student was struck by a car yesterday afternoon while standing at the corner of 40th and Spruce streets. He remained in stable condition last night at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. According to witnesses, the 20-year-old student was standing in the parking lane in front of Allegro Pizza at 3942 Spruce Street, waiting to cross Spruce Street while walking north on 40th Street. Saleem Abdul Waheed, 29, of the 4200 block of Chalfont Place, hit the student as he drove east on Spruce. According to Waheed, the student "walked into traffic and got hit." "I couldn't stop because of the snow," he said. Several students witnessed the accident. "I saw the car coming. I heard like three honks and [the driver] hit the guy," said College senior Olivia Troye, who was driving nearby and got out to help when she saw what happened. After being struck by the car, the student was thrown into the air and landed in the parking lane, witnesses said. "I looked down for a second and when I looked up the guy was flying through the air, limbs everywhere," said Daniel Fienberg, a College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, who saw the incident. Waheed immediately pulled over after hitting the student, according to witnesses. Four or five people gathered around where the student had landed in the street, and others watched from the sidewalk, according to Fienberg. Troye, who was at the student's side, said the student was in a lot of pain, particularly on his left side where the car had hit him. "I think his arm was broken and maybe his shoulder and maybe some ribs," Troye said. A HUP official would not comment on the victim's specific condition. Police, a fire engine and an ambulance all reported to the scene within 10 minutes, according to Fienberg. Fienberg said that although he did not think the driver was speeding, he believed the man was still driving too fast for yesterday's sleet and ice. "The way the weather was this afternoon he should have been driving one mile an hour and he wasn't," he said.