CALDWELL — A college prank went awry Monday night when authorities said a College of Idaho campus security officer was hit by a vehicle driven by fleeing practical jokesters.

The accident happened just before midnight when four students from Northwest Nazarene University came on campus and allegedly filled a fountain with soap. Two security officers making rounds on campus said they saw the students and escorted them off campus.

The students panicked, College of Idaho spokeswoman Jennifer Oxley said. "They ran away, they hopped in the car and they took off. And unfortunately, they hit (the officer) in the process."

An ambulance was called and the injured officer, 21-year-old Rolando De La Cruz of Caldwell who also attends the school, was treated and released from West Valley Medical Center.

The pranksters were reportedly upholding a centuries-old friendly rivalry between the two campuses.

"Tonight is the NNU-College of Idaho basketball game, which is the longest-standing rivalry in Idaho,” Oxley said Tuesday. “They've been playing this game for over 100 years.”

Oxley believes the prank was intended to be harmless and was done in the spirit of light-heartedness and tradition.

"But unfortunately they kind of lost their heads when they were leaving," she said. "We all enjoy the pranks. It just got out of hand. It's one of those things that nobody anticipated happening. This is just a scary reminder of how things can sometimes go wrong. Their campus and our campus are both so very grateful that this was not a much worse incident."

Charges have not been filed, although Nampa Police stopped the car and interviewed the occupants.

"The case has been assigned to a detective and is still under investigation," Caldwell Police Chief Chris Allgood said. The name of the driver has not yet been released.