By Katelin Paiz, Jonathan Montgomery and Jamie Iglesias
Daily Titan Staff Writers

On Oct. 26, Cal State Fullerton student Jessica Shekell, 21, collided head-on with another vehicle while traveling the opposite direction on the 91 freeway.

Although California Highway Patrol has alleged Shekell was drinking before driving, no criminal charges have been brought against Shekell at this time.

Below are the reactions of CSUF students, staff and faculty.

 Kandy Mink Salas, dean of students -

 “It was a horrible event. I feel bad for the people that lost family members.”

Jennifer Sanchez, 18, English major -

“I thought it was a tragedy. It was a shock especially because it was somebody from school.” 

 Ricardo Veloz, 23, psychology major -

 ”I felt kind of bad for the people involved in the accident and I  kind of felt it in her sense too because she’s a student and i guess she didn’t mean to do anything like that, but things happen.”

Here’s how some student felt about the possibility of her being intoxicated and driving drunk:

Rachel Layfield, 21, psychology major - 

“Well, I’m from a small town and a lot of the bars are really close to people’s houses, so they’ll think that they can have a couple drinks and get in the car and, ‘Oh I only live a block away’ and their totally fine but that’s not necessarily the case. I wouldn’t drive if I had anything (to drink) regardless.”

 Tim Cross, 21, communications major -

 “I think that if it is found that she was driving drunk then she  should suffer the consequences, it’s irresponsible to even think about driving if you’ve been drinking and, you know, it shouldn’t be happening as much as it has been.”

Jennifer Pendray, 18, applied mathematics major -

“I think that drunk driving is the most selfish thing that (one) can do.”

 Karalynn Hollis, 18, psychology major -

 “It was sad for me to hear because I could never imagine taking away someone else’s family just because of being irresponsible.” 

Some students also wondered how she entered the wrong side of the freeway:

Pendray.

“I thought it was kind of ridiculous. How do you get (westbound) on an (eastbound) freeway?”

Layfield.

“I mean whether she was completely drunk or not drunk at all the fact that she was driving on the wrong side of the road means that she wasn’t coherent enough to be driving, so I find it crazy.”

 Penny Weismuller, a nursing department assistant professor,  wondered how tired the parties involved in the crash may have  been at the moment of impact.

“She may have just been really extremely tired and made a wrong turn on the freeway, maybe fatigue; 3:00 a.m. for both drivers might be a dangerous time to be out.”

“I think we need to be aware of potentially how tired we would be and what kinds of risks we might be taking due to fatigue, substances, (and) being with people encouraging us to do silly things.” 

Jessica Shekell is currently being treated for her injuries at the UCI Medical Center, she is in stable and in good condition.

Daily Titan Asst. News Editor Patrick Cowles contributed to this article.