‘“I don’t know if anyone was at fault, but there were a few things about the situation to look at. One was everyone crowding around the bus, and the other was the bus driver,” he said. “I would never stand right next to a bus, but if I were the bus driver, I would be looking to see people.”

An e-mail from the party coordinators the day of the event said that 5,240 people had registered on the guest list.

Anna S. Arismendez ’06, who also witnessed the incident, said that the anxious crowd probably caused Riederer to fall.

“Everyone was rushing to the shuttle, trying to get on first. It was cold, we were tired, everyone was trying to rush,” Arismendez said.

For now, Riederer—who remains at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center— said she does not know when she will return to Harvard.

But she said she feels “lucky [the injury] wasn’t worse than what it was.”

Riederer also said she is thankful for the unknown students who lifted her from the street and took care of her until the ambulance arrived.

“Whoever they were, I would like to say thanks to them,” she said.

—Staff writer Jenifer L. Steinhardt can be reached at steinhar@fas.harvard.edu.