Slog - Comments on People Helping People

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:37:22 -0800

It was all my fault.

Comment by heywhatsit

heywhatsit — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:54:27 -0800

And did you get his wallet as well?

Comment by infrequent

infrequent — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:55:14 -0800

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

Comment by Hernandez

Hernandez — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:55:14 -0800

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

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

Comment by infrequent

infrequent — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:57:15 -0800

uh, this picture came from somewhere...

Comment by Bicycle Jihad

Bicycle Jihad — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:57:31 -0800

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!

Comment by Gay Seattle

Gay Seattle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:59:07 -0800

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.

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:03:56 -0800

I don't clarify nuthin' for no onez!

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:06:01 -0800

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.

Comment by Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:08:45 -0800

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.

Comment by Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:09:50 -0800

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

Comment by Hernandez

Hernandez — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:15:19 -0800

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

Comment by max solomon

max solomon — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:15:37 -0800

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

Comment by NapoleonXIV

NapoleonXIV — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:17:48 -0800

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

Comment by Donolectic

Donolectic — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:23:10 -0800

When did Will ever have any sort of comprehension skills?

Comment by bigyaz

bigyaz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:24:55 -0800

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.

Comment by NapoleonXIV

NapoleonXIV — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:28:31 -0800

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

So do older people in Volvos.

Comment by UNPAID BLOGGER

UNPAID BLOGGER — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:36:11 -0800

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?

Comment by NapoleonXIV

NapoleonXIV — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:47:02 -0800

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

Comment by nbc

nbc — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:52:14 -0800

Driver was probably distracted by the moonwalking bear.

Comment by michael strangeways

michael strangeways — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:59:26 -0800

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).

Comment by Giffy

Giffy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:04:06 -0800

@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".

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:08:55 -0800

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.

Comment by Emily

Emily — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:12:36 -0800

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.

Comment by Giffy

Giffy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:14:39 -0800

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

Comment by stinkbug

stinkbug — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:29:56 -0800

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).

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:31:10 -0800

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.

Comment by Gay Seattle

Gay Seattle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:36:04 -0800

@ 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.

Comment by john

john — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:38:52 -0800

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-.

Comment by michael strangeways

michael strangeways — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:39:25 -0800

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

Comment by Giffy

Giffy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:39:40 -0800

@27,
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=NgH&um=1&tab=wn&q=pedestrian+hit+seattle&btnG=Search+News

Comment by Gay Seattle

Gay Seattle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:42:53 -0800

@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.

Comment by infrequent

infrequent — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:47:52 -0800

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.

Comment by stinkbug

stinkbug — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:05:05 -0800

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.

Comment by infrequent

infrequent — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:16:09 -0800

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

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:07:28 -0800

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

Comment by wbrproductions

wbrproductions — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:32:14 -0800

#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.

Comment by AnotherJohn

AnotherJohn — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:31:41 -0800

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.

Comment by bigyaz

bigyaz — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:22:02 -0800

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.

Comment by D

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:48:25 -0800

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.