After just 15 minutes of instructional time, Carlmont High School administrators announced a secure campus order on the morning of Oct. 17.
At approximately 8:45 a.m., the Belmont Police Department (BPD) directed Carlmont to secure its campus out of caution while they investigated a traffic collision in the surrounding neighborhood.
“During the secure campus, classroom instruction and school activities continued in accordance with the protocol,” said Principal Gay Buckland-Murray in an email to the Carlmont community.
Officers were on Alameda and Garden Court to examine the situation and directed people to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
The incident also involved Nolan Russell, a junior, who had parked his car on the side of the road that morning before walking to campus. When he returned in the afternoon, he noticed damages to his car right away.
“‘That’s not where I parked my car,’ I thought at first. I then walked around the back and saw that the rear of the car was severely damaged,” Russell said.
According to video footage that Russell reviewed after school, a white van had sped down the road and crashed into the back of his parked car.
“After seeing the footage, it’s crazy to think something like that could happen in this neighborhood,” Russell said. “I’m just glad I wasn’t in it when they hit the car.”
Since Russell was already at school, the police left a note on his car instructing him to contact the police station.
“After calling the number, an officer came by and explained the situation to me and my mom,” Russell said. “As of now, he told us that only the driver had been apprehended, and the [passenger] escaped.”
For students who did not have a first-period class, they arrived at school during the secure campus, unaware of the circumstances.
“The moment I got out of the car, a Carlmont staff member directed me to the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and explained that there was a secure campus situation,” said Charisse Yeung, a senior. “I was confused and wondering if something very serious was happening since they were telling me to get into the PAC as quickly as possible.”
At 9:14 a.m., the secure campus was lifted.
“We appreciate our partnership with the BPD in keeping our campus and community safe,” Buckland-Murray said.
The BPD will continue to investigate the incident as a hit-and-run collision.
Updated Oct. 18, 2022
