Jennifer writes:
Dear fellow Wallingford community members,
I was wondering if you could spread the word about an accident that occured in front of the Wallingford QFC on Friday, November 4th. That morning, I was hit by a car — making a right-turn from 45th St onto Wallingford Ave — while I crossed the crosswalk. The car did not stop after striking me, and continued to drive northbound on Wallingford. I hoped to send this email out earlier, but have been recooperating from a surgery repairing my left shoulder the past few weeks.
To give context to the situation: Around 7:30AM on 11/4/2011, I was at the SE corner of the 45th St & Wallingford Ave intersection. I saw my #44 bus coming westbound on 45th street. Because the blinking red hand had started, I jogged across the crosswalk to catch it. At this time, there was a line of vehicles in the left-hand turn lane and the go-straight lane on 45th street. This blocked me from seeing a car about to make a quick right turn from WB 45th St onto Wallingford Ave. I didn’t see a car was accelerating to do a right turn until I passed in front of the car in the go-straight lane. The car struck me, sending me flying about 8-12 feet onto the sidewalk. The driver of the car did not stop to see if I was OK.
Fortunately, the only injuries I sustained were a dislocated left shoulder, rotator cuff tear, and brusing on my right leg (where I was struck). While there were several witnesses to the crime, none were able to get a license plate number. We were only able to tell that it was a dark-colored Honda coupe/sedan — possibly an Accord or Civic. The case is still under investigation by the Seattle Traffic Collision Investigators (SPD Case# is 11-359054).
I checked with the Wallingford QFC to see if any of their cameras had caught the accident. Unfortunately, their cameras only capture activity directly in front of their store doors. And they told me that they are the only ones at the intersection with a security camera. I am wondering if you may be aware of any other security cameras in the area that would have captured information on the car.
Essentially, I am hoping that you all can help spread the word in case anybody has any information. Also, I think it would be important to remind drivers and pedestrians to really take extra care and consideration while driving and walking this time of year. The increased nighttime hours can make it harder for cars to see pedestrians crossing the street.
Thank you for your time,
Jennifer
Let us know if you have any information to pass along to Jennifer.
Sorry to hear this and I hope the cowardly driver finds their backbone and admits to this, though doubtful after this amount of time.
45th and Stone is another bad spot – particularly with drivers heading north on Stone and pedestrians coming from the west on the south side of 45th. Everyone’s in a such a hurry, even though taking 2 seconds to stop BEFORE getting to the crosswalk lines isn’t going to make you any later to work.
It seems possible that the car may have continued down Wallingford and passed Durn Good Grocery – they had their dog stolen a while back and the security camera from inside the store captured the thief’s car. After it was published in Wallyhood the dog was returned.
Jennifer, sorry to hear about your accident; it’s shameful that the driver didn’t stop.
That said, you were in violation of the law by starting to cross with a blinking red hand. The accident was caused by both your late crossing and the driver failing to stop before making his right turn.
I’d suggest you cross legally in the future to minimize the chances of a recurrence. You only get one shot at life.
Dear Jennifer, I am so sorry about the accident. I am glad you are recovering from your injuries and so thankful your injuries weren’t life threatening.
Dan, I can’t help but feel like you’re ‘blaming the victim’ a bit. If the driver wasn’t at fault, that’s all the more reason why he/she should have stopped to make sure Jennifer was OK. Maybe he was on his cell phone, texting or otherwise impaired and knew he would be cited if he stuck around for the police. Or maybe he had warrants, no insurance, expired tabs, etc. another reason for running.
I hope the police find the person(s) responsible. Thank you for posting on Wallyhood. I wish we had some helpful information for you. Hopefully another reader will.
Yeah, let’s please not blame the victim here.
Judging by the description of the accident, it sounds like the driver ran a red light.
Wait–the crosswalk that goes from the Wallingford center to the QFC parking lot? Sounds like the car was in the bus lane, and probably had the bus-lane green light when the other lights were red–which is an accident waiting to happen when car drivers go through the intersection with their left vision blocked (I assume Metro drivers are trained to look–at the very least, they are accelerating slowly from the stop). I have wondered about that lane, and my fears are confirmed. So, the driver probably did not run a red light, and is not completely at fault for the accident, although he/she sensibly should have looked and was probably going too fast for the situation. However, not stopping after hitting someone was a serious violation.
Toby-sounds line the driver was going north on Wallingford, not toward the Durn Good. It was a good idea, though.
I have very mixed feelings about ths. First off I live ntovery far away and go through this intersection often. that bus light is confusing and could mislead a driver.
However.. however,, running into a crosswalk with a flashing red hand which means DONT GO is dangerous and against the law. While inthis case only the pedestrian was hurt, it could have been much mor eserious if say the driver slammed on brakes to avoid her because she had to get hER bus and break the law to do so.. and a child in the car was thrown and a seatbelt broke a rib or collar bone.
DARN it people thinkthey have much entitlement when it comes to breakign the law to ‘catch’ a bus. Truly they do not.
I don’t know how long the pedestrian light flashes red before it stops, but any vehicle driver making a right turn must realize that if all the other vehicles are stopped at the light, it is probably because the light is red and the burden is ALWAYS on the driver to exercise due diligence and caution at a crosswalk. This is a busy pedestrian intersection, and there are oftentimes people who cannot walk fast or who use wheelchairs crossing here. That said, it is also an intersection which I would NEVER consider breaching to turn right onto Wallingford from either direction.
I travel this intersection frequently from every which way, both driving and walking. I have never noticed a special bus light for right turns, and in fact, know of no bus that turns right or left onto Wallingford. If there is a “bus lane green light” as Fruitbat suggested (and which I have never noticed before) that green light should be signed “for buses only”. My recollection is that the east/west buses do not appear to have a special lane for their use, though there is a no parking lane along the north westbound section of 45th in front of QFC that is used by the westbound bus and by QFC shoppers to access the front QFC parking lot and to turn right onto Wallingford north AFTER the light turns green. It is something of an anomoly: both the west and east right lanes are hyperextended, and no reasonable driver, imho, would breach the red light to make right turns onto Wallingford from either direction.
If the pedestrian light to cross 45th was blinking, then the westbound stoplight was not green.
I wonder if they’ve recently changed that light. I was on 45th recently, in the left hand turn lane to turn south onto Wallingford, and the bus in the right line beside me kept going. I thought the bus ran the red, but maybe not.
With that said, I’ve stopped crossing that intersection from the westernmost corner, in front of Babalu, because if someone runs the first red light and/or sees the 2nd light & doesn’t realize it’s not for them, I am at risk as a pedestrian. My partner saw a young girl run ahead of her dad once… and the car running that light actually went between them. Needless to say, father was in absolute hysterics, but glad she wasn’t hurt.
Hit-and-runs are so common around here that every time I hear about a car hitting a pedestrian, I expect to hear that the driver took off (or tried to). It’s horrible to think that so many people lack a conscience–evading responsibility after hurting or killing another human being. How can they go on with their lives as if nothing has happened? I’ll never understand.
Jennifer, I wish you a full and speedy recovery.
I had a driver speed up to get through the 45th/Stoneway intersection a few weeks ago. He was about 100 yards out when the light turned yellow, sped up to what looked like 50-55mph and then skid through the rain-slick intersection attempting to take a left onto Stoneway (South). Fortunately I was patiently waiting for the cross walk and was alert enough at 7am to jump to my right. The guy narrowly missed me, backed up into the intersection and then flew down Stoneway.
Moral of the story: take your damn time and be alert, please. You’re driving a large, heavy object and most definitely will beat me in a wrestling match. The adrenaline rush was interesting (saved me from having to pour myself coffee at work) and I’m sure Desert Sun is happy they didn’t have to clean me off their entrance, but I shouldn’t have to worry for my life like that. Drive slower, people.
The traffic light in the right hand lane is for “BUSES ONLY” according to the sign hanging from the light. This special bus light has been there for quite some time, (used in many areas around town) and is designed to let the buses back in to traffic ahead of normal traffic. If a vehicle is in the right hand lane making a right turn they are to wait for the normal light to turn green. It could be confusing for some drivers.
Not to justify the drivers actions, but WAC 132E-16-040 does state:
Pedestrian sudden movements. No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop.
I’m glad she’s ok, but this serves as a reminder that even pedestrians can be wrong.
Steve
Nothing can excuse the act of hitting someone with your car and just taking off.
Kris, I don’t think anyone excuses the driver for either his illegal right turn or (especially) leaving the scene of an accident particularly when a pedestrian was injured.
The pedestrian illegally crossed late and in a manner likely to surprise motorists. The driver of the car who hit her did not come to a stop before making his right. Take either infraction out and the accident doesn’t happen.
The driver turned infraction to crime by leaving the scene. I hope as much as anyone here that the driver is caught and jailed.
However, we would do a disservice to Jennifer if we did not acknowledge her partial fault in a mixed fault accident. My desire is to encourage Jennifer to see that no bus is worth darting across traffic. It’s a teachable moment.
Jennifer, let me add my concern and my wishes for a speedy recovery. As a pedestrian who doesn’t own a car, I would like to point out that it would be really really great if there was a way to signal a bus that you would like to board. Way too often I miss a bus by being across the street and unable to get the driver to wait for me.
We all have to be more alert, more cautious, more courteous, and more aware these days.
It’s a good thing Jennifer has such well-meaning and compassionate neighbors willing to give her such a teachable moment free of charge! Otherwise, during the weeks she spent recovering from her injuries and the subsequent surgery, she might never have considered that she could have avoided it by acting differently.
That intersection is a complete mess and needs to be rethought.
I hope Jennifer gets well quickly and i didnt mean to sound unfeeling. I travel that street often and am often shocked at behaviors of people trying to catch buses.
I looked today and that wierd bus light is there and the sign below it small and could easily have mislead a driver who didnt knwo the area as it is in right lane.
Could the driver have hit her and not known?
If you are still looking for the car, around 7:20 to 7:45, there are 50 to 100 cars dropping off kids at Hamilton Middle School on 41st. The car could have been coming or going from there. You could look there 1 morning for a damaged Honda Accord/Civic. Not sure how you would approach it, if you found one. They already hit and ran once.
Look, if the hand is flashing red, the pedestrian still has a reasonable expectation that the cross traffic still has a red light. You are not supposed to enter the intersection when the hand is flashing (a) to ensure you have enough time to cross and (b) to give drivers turning the corner a chance to complete their turn before the light changes. The woman was hurrying across the street with every expectation that the westbound traffic was not going to move. This is not darting into traffic, or “walk[ing]… into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop.” The appearance and reasonable expectation was that the cars *were* all stopped.
Also, it wasn’t a driver who just turned right on red without stopping (as happens so #$*% often)–it was most likely a driver who thought he or she had a green light. The actual turn is much further along, at the end of the QFC property.
Michael H–right on!
Shea–doubt Hamilton traffic would be westbound on 45th making a right onto northbound Wallingford. A driver coming from Hamilton would most likely be farther west, or at most coming north already on Wallingford.
you are right fruit re the driver..
hopefully this accident and community words can go tothe city to reorganize the intersection.. if nothing less the bus light.
The bus light shouldn’t be green while the crosswalk has a flashing red, and it seems unlikely that it is, or needs any adjustment.
I double–checked and the bus light just says “Bus Signal.” There is no word “only” involved. And it’s obviously a legal lane for cars, another sign says “right lane must turn right.” So when does the bus signal turn green? It seems possible, given the above narrative, that a car driver, his/her view obstructed by vehicles in the middle and left-turn lane, could get the green while pedestrians (who legaly entered when the walk sign was lit but walk slow) were still in the crosswalk. Anyone have time to go checkout a few cycles of the light?
oops. You’re correct, my mistake.
The walk signal turns solid red before the bus signal turns green, then a few seconds after that the normal traffic light turns green giving the bus a head start.
Steve
THANK YOU, YOU TWO. iF A PEDESTRIAN ENTERS THE WALK WITH FLSHING LIGHT IS FLASHING.. AND IS INTENT ON RUNNING TO THE BUS, HE/SHE MIGHT NTO SEE THAT THE LIGHT HAS CHANGED TO A SOLID RED.. AND A CAR IF THEIR VISION IS OBSCURED BY ANOTHER CAR OR TRUCK WOULD BE ENTERING THE INTERSECTION LEGALLY.. DURING A DARK MORNING.. THE COLLISION IS TERRIBLE AND THE DRIVERS NEGLECT THE WORST.
wE NEED TO HAVE THAT BUS LIGHT REMOVESD FROMTHAT INTERSECTION
Jaywalking! That car manufacturer manufactured crime:
http://westnorth.com/2009/02/01/a-history-of-jaywalking/
“The cleverest anti-jaywalking publicity effort was in Detroit in 1922, where the Packard Motor Car Company exploited the new fashion for monuments to traffic fatalities. Packard built an oversized imitation tombstone that closely resembled the monument to the innocent child victims of accidents in Baltimore. But Packard’s tombstone redirected blame to the victims. It was marked ‘Erected to the Memory of Mr. J. Walker: He Stepped from the Curb Without Looking.’” — Peter D. Norton’s Fighting Traffic (MIT, 2008), pp. 72-79
Fruitbat, I have waited for the 44 many a time at that intersection, and from what I’ve seen the Bus Signal light only changes green early if there is in fact a bus (with a special transponder) present, otherwise it turns green at the same time the main lights change. The only time it would change early for a right-turning car is if a 44 or 16 pulled up behind it and triggered the light, which does not sound like the case here.
Considering that the victim said she was running for the bus, I would say that does sound like the case here. There’s a very good chance this happened: there was a car in front of the bus, it got the green, the driver didn’t see her, she didn’t expect a car to peel out in the right lane.
I have been driving in that lane when the bus light turned green first, and it’s very confusing as to whether a car (at the front of the line) should go or not.