Professor in fair condition after collision

A UNC professor is in fair condition Tuesday after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle to work on Monday morning.

Michael Aitken, chairman of the Gillings School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, was turning left at the intersection of West Main Street and N.C. Highway 54 in Carrboro at 7:58 a.m. when a woman driving struck him with her car, said Sgt. Chris Atack of the Carrboro Police Department.

Atack would not reveal the identity of the woman, but said she was uninjured.

He said the cause of the accident has yet to be determined.

He said Aitken was injured in the accident, and a Carrboro police officer on his way to work saw the aftermath and responded. Atack said the officer did not witness the accident.

After a fire rescue vehicle responded, Aitken was transported to UNC Hospitals to be treated, Atack said.

A spokeswoman for UNC Hospitals said Aitken is in fair condition, and he was being treated at the hospital as of Tuesday afternoon.

Atack said that police are still trying to decide whether charges will be brought against the driver, and he said the investigation has been difficult because no eyewitnesses have come forward.

“We are asking anyone who thinks they may have seen something to come forward, because right now we are still working through the investigative phase,” Atack said.

David Leith, associate chairman of the department, said he has no information about Aitken’s current health status, but he knows he is still in the hospital.

“I don’t think anyone has heard from him. We’re hopeful that we will find out some more information soon,” he said.

Aitken has been chairman of the department for five years and has worked at the University for over 20 years, Leith said.

Aitken is particularly interested in the water quality sector of public health, he added.

“He’s a fine person and definitely one of the most respected people in our department,” Leith said.

Cass Miller, a professor of environmental science and engineering, said he also does not know specific details about what happened.

But he said he has known Aitken more than 25 years, and he also knows Aitken’s wife and three sons.

“He’s very well-liked by all, faculty and students alike,” he said. “He’s a person who cares deeply about the department and this school.”

Miller said the strangest part of the whole accident was the fact that Aitken was riding his bicycle to work that day.

“I was really surprised. He doesn’t always ride his bike to work, and when he does it’s usually in the summer,” he said.

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