When Allison Hanig crashed her bicycle into Mark Yudof’s Ford Expedition on Tuesday morning, she had no idea the driver was the University president.
The 19-year-old College of Liberal Arts freshman was pancaked against the side of Yudof’s truck along Harvard Street Southeast near the parking lot adjacent to Great Clips, a TCF bank and the Radisson Hotel Metrodome at 8 a.m., according to police reports. Hanig said she was on her way to the University Rec Center.
The student was treated and released at Hennepin County Medical Center after incurring minor injuries from the accident. She suffered surface cuts to her head, hands and knees.
Yudof later spoke with Hanig, who repeatedly apologized. Yudof said he later offered to take her out to lunch.
“It was very scary,” Yudof said. “I had a lump in my throat.”
At the scene of the accident, Hanig said she had a hard time recognizing the president and didn’t have a chance to discuss the incident with him at the time.
“I thought he was just a random guy in a business suit,” Hanig said. “There were just so many people around.”
Hanig missed her first two classes on Tuesday but planned on attending her night class.
“I’m totally fine, just really sore,” she said.
According to the police report, Yudof stopped near the parking lot entrance to let pedestrians cross in front of him. He then started to turn right after making sure no one was still in the walkway. The report states Yudof’s turn signal was blinking.
At that point, Hanig clipped Yudof’s truck from behind. She was trying to get through the intersection before the light turned red, according to the report.
Hanig said she was traveling in the bike lane and had made it across Washington Avenue Southeast.
The incident attracted several onlookers Tuesday morning, Hanig said.
“This truly was an accident,” said University Police Lt. Steve Johnson, acting police chief for the department.
Johnson added that traffic congestion can turn into a safety concern in the spring months with more bikers, drivers and pedestrians converging on the same campus roadways.

In other police news:
ù A 38-year-old Minneapolis man was charged with third-degree burglary Thursday after employees at a bar in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood caught him climbing into a bar office window on April 25.
Employees at the Triple Rock bar on the 600 block of Cedar Avenue South detained the man until Minneapolis police arrived.
John Harris allegedly stole a deck of cards from the office and broke a window in order to gain entrance into the room, according to the criminal complaint.
The bar was similarly burglarized one week prior. According to the complaint, $3,000 was stolen from the same office during the break-in.
Harris’ criminal record includes previous burglary and aggravated-forgery convictions. He was also convicted of possessing stolen property and stealing a car, according to the complaint.
The manager of the Triple Rock said the burglar gained entrance to the bar through the roof. He said bar staff have plans to tighten up security measures in light of the burglaries.
The bar opened five months ago in the building formerly occupied by Blondie’s on the Avenue.

ù Minneapolis police arrested a 25-year-old man Saturday for purchasing alcohol for a minor at a campus liquor store.
Saturday’s arrest at the U Liquors parking lot was one of 18 citations police issued near stores in southeast and northeast Minneapolis since April 1.
The man cited on Saturday allegedly agreed to buy liquor for a 19-year-old female police decoy, said Minneapolis Lt. Robin Cole.
If convicted, the man faces gross misdemeanor charges and up to one year in jail, Cole said.
Cole said Minneapolis police received a $5,000 grant for the decoy program from the Minnesota Join Together Coalition. The coalition is sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and administered by the American Medical Association.
The decoy program does not target liquor store owners, Cole said. Although arrests have been made at stores near campus including U Liquors and Dinkytown Wine and Spirits, the stores’ liquor licenses are not in jeopardy.