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Three injured in Mardi Gras crash

Car driving back from Saint Louis celebrations overturns near Iowa City

by Eva Constantaras

Four Grinnell students were injured in a car accident over the weekend as they drove back to campus from Mardi Gras in St. Louis, Missouri.

Eliza Coburn '08, Yuki Goto '08 and Jelal Younes ' 08 were hospitalized after the crash, which police said occurred at 9:04 a.m. on northbound Highway 218 near Iowa City on Sunday morning. Demetrio Rojas Aguilera '08, also in the car, was not injured.

Younes, who was driving the car and fell asleep at the wheel, was released on Monday evening. He suffered minor fractures of the spine and underwent surgery on Sunday to close a wound on his head. Only Younes was wearing a seatbelt. The police investigation is ongoing.

Coburn and Goto sustained serious injuries and remain in the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.

According to family, Coburn broke both her hips and one leg. She underwent surgeries on her legs and was moved from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the burn unit to reduce the possibility of infection after surgery. Coburn is an economics major and manager of the women's soccer team last semester. She had left school on medical leave earlier this semester.

Goto is still in the ICU. His family flew in from Japan to be with him after the crash. Family members said Goto will remain in the hospital for a long time, but the length of the stay has not been determined. Goto is also an economics major and an avid photographer and rock climber. Friends have brought photographs to the hospital. Tom Crady, vice president of Student Affairs said, in Goto's case, "it's a waiting game. No one is going to know anything more for several days."

Once the families know more, information will be released at their discretion. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act restricts the distribution of medical information to close family. A student involved in the accident also requested that a campus-wide e-mail not be sent out to inform the student body about the accident.

According to Rojas Aguilera, the four students drove to St. Louis early Saturday morning and attended the Mardi Gras festivities. Younes said that they, along with another car of Grinnellians, decided to drive back to Grinnell instead of staying overnight at a friend's. They set out at about 3 a.m. on Sunday. Younes drove while the passengers slept. After about two hours, Younes pulled over and they slept for under an hour. Rojas Aguilera took over driving and about two hours later, he pulled off for another short nap.

Younes said he awoke and decided to try to drive the rest of the way home, playing music loudly to stay awake while the others continued to sleep, but he nodded off just outside of Iowa City. According to the police officer in charge of the case, the car gradually entered the inside shoulder. Younes woke up once on the shoulder. He over steered to the right, causing the car to slide across the northeast lanes, enter the east ditch and roll several times before coming to rest back upright on the tires, according to the officer.

Coburn and Goto, who were riding in the back seat, were thrown through the back window. Rojas Aguilera said he regained consciousness in the back seat and climbed out the back window while off-duty paramedics pulled over to assist. Younes was extricated from the car, where he was trapped, unconscious. All four students were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Student Affairs responded Sunday morning as soon as they heard about the accident. Crady said they met immediately to contact families and support students. They gathered a list of close friends, contacted professors and have been sending out e-mail updates, providing a daily afternoon shuttle to the hospital and paying for gas and food expenses. Cards and stuffed animals brought to Student Affairs will be delivered to the hospital. Chaplain Deanna Shorb and Janet Alexander, director of International Student Services, alternate shifts at the hospital to counsel family and friends.

Younes and Rojas Aguilera have visited their friends in the hospital several times. Rojas Aguilera said Student Affairs talked to the professors and "gave people more time to think about their friends, which at times like this is more important than academics."

Friends have visited every day from the morning the students arrived at the hospital. Crady said, when he first arrived on Sunday, "The only thing I was asked to do was keep students out of the ward."

Now that the families have arrived, friends are encouraged to visit. According to close friend Laura Lienemann '08 and Sam Lancaster '08, Goto and Rojas Aguilera's SA and friend, Coburn was in a lot of pain on their first visit but was joking around later in the week. They said Goto's family welcomes visitors and invites them to bring photos and stories about Goto, though visiting blocks are short and broken up throughout the day.

Student Affairs plans to maintain services to students visiting Coburn and Goto in the hospital for as long as needed, though Goto's stay will probably be longer than Coburn's. Alexander said, "If he's going to be there a long time, I think he'll need long-term support."

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