An intoxicated student was clipped by the side mirror of a Rural Metro ambulance as he was stepping off the curb at Comstock Avenue and University Place at approximately 11:55 p.m. on Thursday, said Stg. Gary Bulinski of the Syracuse Police Department.

Casey Cornelia-Galletto, a senior in the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, was treated at the scene for a head laceration, and then transported to University Hospital for evaluation. His injuries were not critical, Bulinski said.

“His injuries were ultimately minor,” Bulinski said. “He was taken to the hospital for evaluation, but whether that evaluation was for his level of intoxication or his injuries, I don’t know.”

An SPD investigation found that Cornelia-Galletto had stepped off the curb and into the side mirror of the ambulance as it was traveling northbound on Comstock Avenue, Bulinski said.

Henry Lu, a junior biology major, was leaving a Sigma Phi Epsilon party when he saw the aftermath of the accident.

“The Sig Ep party closed, and everybody was coming, and when this kid was crossing the street, I guess, an ambulance hit him and now there’s a puddle of blood,” he said. “I saw what happened when I came out, and everybody was like, ‘Holy shit.’”

Police do not know the blood alcohol level of Cornelia-Galletto at the time of the accident as they would not check it unless he was being arrested, Bulinski said.

No tickets have been issued in connection with the accident, Bulinski said, and because the case is closed, no tickets are expected to be issued, either.

Published on April 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm