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Thursday, March 13, 2008

People Helping People

posted by on March 13 at 14:25 PM

A reader just sent this in:

Here’s a photo I took at 24th and Lynn, in front of Fuel coffee, about 9:30 a.m. this morning. The man in the street was hit by a newish volvo wagon turning left onto 24th, driven by an older woman from Madison Park. The man on his knees was a bystander helping out, while others directed traffic and so forth. Bike bystander guy started taking pictures, completely pissing off on-knees man, who screamed at bike guy and then kicked him really hard, breaking his camera. The guy hit by the car was taken away in an ambulance, coherent. The woman said she was turning when he ran out in front of her car. He was not at the crosswalk.

03-13-08_0920.jpg

RSS icon Comments

1

It was all my fault.

Posted by Mr. Poe | March 13, 2008 2:37 PM
2

And did you get his wallet as well?

Posted by heywhatsit | March 13, 2008 2:54 PM
3

just to clarify, mr poe, is it all your fault that the accident occurred, or all your fault that people are actually helping people?

Posted by infrequent | March 13, 2008 2:55 PM
4

Injured man laying in the sidewalk? Wow, let's take pictures!

What a douche that cyclist was. I'm glad his camera was broken.

Posted by Hernandez | March 13, 2008 2:55 PM
5

uh, this picture came from somewhere...

Posted by infrequent | March 13, 2008 2:57 PM
6

Yeah god forbid he gather EVIDENCE to be used in the injured man's insurance claim, or to prove who was in the right or wrong.

We can't have that!

Posted by Bicycle Jihad | March 13, 2008 2:57 PM
7

I hope he is not seriously hurt. What a terrible start to someone's day. Rain seems to lead to more jaywalkers darting across the street. I always drive much more cautious during rain because you never know when one of those a Cali transplants not accustomed to being without an umbrella will sprint in front of your car out of nowhere.

Posted by Gay Seattle | March 13, 2008 2:59 PM
8

I don't clarify nuthin' for no onez!

Posted by Mr. Poe | March 13, 2008 3:03 PM
9

Won't be in the "local" daily news, that's for sure ... since only bicyclists were hurt.

Just like riots in southern areas of the city are never reported if they don't involve white people.

Posted by Will in Seattle | March 13, 2008 3:06 PM
10

Will, WTF are you talking about? The guy who was hit by the car was a pedestrian, according to the tip. The guy on the bike was taking pictures of the scene, and one of the other "helpful" bystanders broke the cyclist's camera. Property damage is not injury.

Posted by Rebecca | March 13, 2008 3:08 PM
11

Will, you failed in reading comprehension. No bicyclist was hurt. It was a pedestrian.

Posted by Jeff | March 13, 2008 3:09 PM
12

Plenty of time to take pictures once you've figured out if the guy's alright, or even better once the paramedics have arrived.

Posted by Hernandez | March 13, 2008 3:15 PM
13

"older woman from Madison Park" = senior who shouldn't be behind the wheel.

Posted by max solomon | March 13, 2008 3:15 PM
14

People who need people are not necessarily the luckiest people in the world, after all....

Posted by NapoleonXIV | March 13, 2008 3:17 PM
15

When did Will ever have any sort of comprehension skills?

Posted by Donolectic | March 13, 2008 3:23 PM
16

Geez, Will, are you giving ANY thought to your comments these days? First, it was a pedestrian that was hurt, not a bicyclist. Second, do you really expect metropolitan newspapers to run out and cover every pedestrian injury that happens in the city? Already you rip them for the things they don't cover; is this really where you think they should be spending their time?

This barely qualifies for Slog -- and in fact it's only here because someone happened to produce a picture.

Posted by bigyaz | March 13, 2008 3:24 PM
17

When people are pumped full of adrenaline, they sometimes do stupid things.

So do older people in Volvos.

Posted by NapoleonXIV | March 13, 2008 3:28 PM
18

Who's to blame in such a situation? The old driver with questionable driving skill, or a jay-walker too dumb to look out for traffic?

Posted by UNPAID BLOGGER | March 13, 2008 3:36 PM
19

Legally, the person on foot will generally have the right of way. Even walking against a light.

Posted by NapoleonXIV | March 13, 2008 3:47 PM
20

Driver was probably distracted by the moonwalking bear.

Posted by nbc | March 13, 2008 3:52 PM
21

Judging by the photo, it looks like the guy was jaywalking, which makes him at fault, or at least, partly at fault depending on how the driver was driving, (ie, recklessly or speeding).

Posted by michael strangeways | March 13, 2008 3:59 PM
22

@19, no, no they won't. If you dart out into the street in front of a car and get hit its your own damn fault and unless the driver was likewise violating the law (i.e. speeding) your SOL.

Now almost all corners, whether marked or not are crosswalks so if your hit in a there and you don't have the "don't walk" sign, the driver will likely be found at fault. The exception would be say you come running into the street and the driver would have no ability to see you or stop.

@6, What possible evidence would these pictures provide. That he was injured and given medical attention? Thats pretty much established by the police report. I suppose it would give some idea of were he was, but the police usually mark that and document the scene, so there is no need for a douche on a bike to "help out".

Posted by Giffy | March 13, 2008 4:04 PM
23

It doesn't matter whether you think the bicyclist was a douche or not. Taking pictures in a public place is legal. Smashing other people's cameras is not.

Posted by Fnarf | March 13, 2008 4:08 PM
24

JESUS. I used to work at that block up until December, and that's at least the fourth serious personal injury to happen within that block in the last twelve months. Glad my company moved.

Posted by Emily | March 13, 2008 4:12 PM
25

@23, plus it justs makes them more self-important and annoying.

Posted by Giffy | March 13, 2008 4:14 PM
26

Some of you people are idiots.

Here's the reality:

"All intersections in Seattle are legal pedestrian crosswalks whether they are marked or unmarked."

That photo shows a guy down at the intersection. It appears he was crossing at the intersection and thus was indeed using an (unmarked) crosswalk. That's not jaywalking.

Some studies claim that pedestrian use more caution when using unmarked crosswalks on busy streets. (Read this article, for example).

Posted by stinkbug | March 13, 2008 4:29 PM
27

Pedestrians, bicyclists - if no major property was damaged - i.e. a Car, SUV, or Truck - it didn't happen.

Am I clear enough for you?

This won't lead the 11 pm news.

Posted by Will in Seattle | March 13, 2008 4:31 PM
28

@ 24 I think Fuel Coffee is directly responsible for this string of injuries. Again I hope this fella is OK but I guess we will never know.

Posted by Gay Seattle | March 13, 2008 4:36 PM
29

This is a terrible accident, but Seattle people walk blindly into the street at the drop of a hat. STOP AND LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE YOU CROSS THE STREET. Your right of way does not come with a backup pint of AB-.

Posted by john | March 13, 2008 4:38 PM
30

looking at that picture, and the position of the victim, it looks like he was NOT in the crosswalk...

Posted by michael strangeways | March 13, 2008 4:39 PM
32

@26 "Some studies claim that pedestrian use more caution when using unmarked crosswalks on busy streets"
I have seen many pedestrain use less caution when it is raining. I witnessed someone get hit and go flying 10 feet straight up into the air at 3rd & Pine one day during some heavy rain crossing against the light.

Posted by Gay Seattle | March 13, 2008 4:42 PM
33

looks like the ped is not in an intersection. even so, crossing in a crosswalk is jay-walking if you have the don't cross signal. if there is no signal, you still cannot step in front of a moving vehicle. at a corner, cars are supposed to stop is a ped is waiting to cross, not just if he ped has already stepped into the street.

i can't say for certain what happened here, but the oh-so-terribly-rude-photo we have, and the witness accounts, seem to suggest this terrible accident was more the fault of the pedestrian.

Posted by infrequent | March 13, 2008 4:47 PM
34


WSDOT - State Pedestrian Laws
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/walk/Laws.htm

WA State Crosswalk Law
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/walk/CrosswalkLaw.htm

Washington State's crosswalk law (RCW 46.61.235) says:
- Drivers must stop if a pedestrian is in their half of the roadway.
- Drivers must stop if a pedestrian is within one lane of their half of the roadway.
- Once the pedestrian is beyond one lane of their half of the roadway, drivers may go.

Posted by stinkbug | March 13, 2008 5:05 PM
35

those all apply in a crosswalk. look up the jaywalking laws.

Posted by infrequent | March 13, 2008 6:16 PM
36

You can't tell from the picture where the guy was when he was struck. He could have been knocked a considerable distance.

Posted by Fnarf | March 13, 2008 8:07 PM
37

#7 (and other posts) Shut the fuck up! What rain leads to is more retarded drivers not paying any motherfucking attention. What drivers like this need is to be ripped out of their car and tased repeatedly.

Apparenly, you are one of those idiot drivers. Go ahead and hit me fucktard, but you better finish the job.

Posted by wbrproductions | March 13, 2008 10:32 PM
38

Jaywalking only applies if the block is between two signals (say, downtown on 3rd Avenue). Otherwise there is no legal "jaywalking" definition that can be applied.

Posted by AnotherJohn | March 14, 2008 7:31 AM
39

Lots of opinions here based on very few facts. Those who say he was definitely at an intersection are full of it; you can't tell anything from that photo, but there is certainly no clear indication of an intersection. And we don't know if he was crossing properly or darted out in front of the car.

Based on almost no information you're all set to apportion blame. Ridiculous.

Posted by bigyaz | March 14, 2008 8:22 AM
40

I really hate it when cars turn in front of people crossing or try to race the pedestrian just after they step off the curb to pass in FRONT of them. So illegal. NOT enforced.

Posted by D | March 14, 2008 6:48 PM

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