Why are you all so quick to buy this guy's story? Because he's a RUNNER and the driver was the president of the college (an authority figure)?
Change the cast of characters. Image your mother stopped at a stop sign. There is a lot of traffic and she's trying to turn out and go left. She looks left, it's clear, she looks right, there's a gap, she looks back left as she pulls out. Suddenly there's this runner flashing by in front oh her. You know the guy, he's a real self-centered jerk, he slams the hood of your mother's car and screams at her.
If you're running and you see a car trying to pull out, why in the hell would you run in front of it?
That's the question. Not how are you going to handle it now.