Drivers always claim the pedestrian was jaywalking. There have been many times at the corner of pike and boren where i've almost been hit by cars making unprotected left hand turns while i'm in the crosswalk. Beating the light or oncoming traffic doesn't give the driver the right to almost plow in to me and be indignant when I get pissed off for almost being a statistic.
Right - he didn't see a full-grown man smack into his windshield. Prick.
Apparently he also hates pedestrians who cross legally.
Robert Novak + black Corvette = Douche Vader.
Also, as a side point, people should be allowed to jaywalk. If you can be trusted to look both ways at a crosswalk and make a decision about when to go, the same should apply for anywhere. Or at least it shouldn't be a ticketable offense.
He's a conservative. Conservatives never accept responsibility for their actions; it's not in their nature.
It's nice to see that Novak's commitment to being an utter douchebag is consistent in every area of his life, from burning CIA agents to crossing the goddamn street.
"[David] Bono said he told him that you can't hit a pedestrian and just drive away. He said Novak responded: 'I didn’t see him there.'"
Didn't see "him?" The pedestrian on Novak's windshield, to whom Novak referred as "him?" That's pretty damn incriminating.
"'Learn to read the signs, [bodily orifice]!'"
What the fuck? Why do pedestrians and cyclists let ourselves be pushed around by these dinosaur cars? Why do people in cars rule the entire road? Cars should be tamed.
Well, sometimes the pedestrian IS in fact jaywalking. I've jaywalked enough myself to know that, occasionally, even when you think you're in the clear, some driver will come screaming around a corner as you're crossing, which presumably is why it's illegal most places; not because jaywalkers are necessarily reckless and stupid, but because sometimes, even when they've taken reasonable precautions it's still impossible to avoid stupid, reckless, speeding drivers.
But @4, I do agree with your point; so long as jaywalkers are aware they're taking their lives into their own hands by crossing against lights or in the middle of blocks, and that they're going to be held responsible for the consequences, then by all means allow them to exercise that responsibility.
David Bono is hero of the day! He was so brave - Good chance that Novak might not have "seen him," either.
Oh. And yeah, Novak=raging asshole. I hope he gets the book thrown at him on this one.
novakula.
I'm shocked -- shocked! -- to learn that Robert Novak drives a Corvette.
The thought of Novak going to prison gives me a giant, raging erection. Have fun seeing how the other half lives, ya prick!
I hope Novak gets a Presidential pardon for his hit-and-run felony conviction. He's done so much for this country's leadership in a time of great crisis. Great Americans like him should be allowed to hit ordinary people with their cars. That's the price we all pay to live in the Land of the Free. Besides, isn't 'pedestrian' just another word for 'can't afford a car?' So really, those people bring it on themselves.
According to the Washington Post, Novak was fined $50 and the pedestrian had very minor injuries.
Apparently, it's okay to hit and run in DC, as well as lie your way into a war, destroy the environment and ruin our economy.
Good to know.
A $50 ticket for hitting a pedestrian? No hit-and-run? WTF?
Here's the profile of the guy who chased Novak down (by jumping on the hood of Novak's Corvette at one point!):
http://www.harkinscunningham.com/profiles/washington/bono.html
Go David Bono!
WJLA has an interview with him right after it happened: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/537957.html
$50 is an appropriate fine for accidentally hitting a pedestrian if you cause no injuries.
Leaving the scene of an accident you caused, though, should be jail time.
@4: Generally I agree with you, but the jaywalkers who really screw up traffic are the ones who cross on the flashing light, preventing cars from making legal turns. That's the only time the cars can turn, so traffic gets backed up through multiple cycles.
I know, nobody here has sympathy for drivers, but simply following the rules would help a lot in this case.
Isn't Robert Novak the traitor who reported that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent after being told to do so the Bush Administration?
Why isn't he in jail?
@4-i agree, but by your logic i should be able to drive 90 mph in a residential neighborhood as long as no one is in danger of being hurt.
At http://DCist.com the hit & run violation is cited under this headline: "Novak Hits Pedestrian; It's Not Joe Wilson".
@21,
Add another zero to that number and maybe I'll agree with you. $50 just seems awfully low. Hitting a pedestrian crossing legally should merit a fine significantly greater than a parking ticket.
Fair enough. My point was that just accidentally hitting the guy isn't what Novak did. He drove away. Whole 'nuther level of bad. Anybody can make a mistake -- I've come close to hitting a ped myself. It takes a special gift to drive away, though.
Why didn't the police shoot him?
He's a known traitor, after all.
Novak, that is.
Ha. Shoulda guessed he has a tiny penis. What a dick.
Let Dick Cheney get away with attempted murder and pretty soon all the wannabes want to get away with attempted murder, as well.
It's just too bad it wasn't Novak who was hit. Backed over and hit again. And again. And again...
You know, maybe some of this dangerous driving on the part of law-and-order types is fallout from the Iraq war. Maybe driving like a Blackwater convoy in Baghdad is something the Cheney-suckups do on the weekends now, instead of shooting each other in the kevlar vest in duck blinds.
Waddayamean, he's not dead? I thought Novak died like, three years ago! Just look at him!
ZOMBIE PUNDIT WANT CYCLIST BRAAAIN...
Eureka! I just figured out what went wrong with this arrest. The wrong Bono chased him down!
If Bono Vox of U2 had tracked him down and shined a klieg light on him... ("Am I buggin' you? I don't mean to bug ye'." ... then Zombie Novak would have been transfixed on the spot and confessed to the police, under the harsh light of our virtuous Irish Diogenes.
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