Thursday, February 28, 2013

Another pedestrian hit by a car in Wheaton-Glenmont: This time a hit and run!

Map of collision area from http://www.walkscore.com
I'm shocked to read about another car-walker collision death in the Wheaton area this week.  It was again on or near Connecticut Ave, a busy main road where traffic regularly speeds.  This time, in the Aspen Hill/Glenmont area.  The victim was found on Elby Street near Connecticut Avenue. 

The driver shamefully left the scene and this is a hit and run.

Can we get some community outrage now?  Can we get some traffic speed enforcement on Connecticut, Georgia, University, etc?  What has to happen for cars to stop speeding through our neighborhoods and hitting people? 

As I wrote about last week, this keeps happening.  This is the fourth innocent pedestrian death in four weeks in the area that closely surrounds Wheaton. 

As reported by Patch (same link as above):
Montgomery County police are looking for a Toyota Corolla in connection with a hit-and-run that occurred in Aspen Hill Tuesday night. Police said via Twitter that the car in question is of unknown color and a model from the late 1990s to the early 2000s.  
According to a police statement, Ali appeared to have been crossing from east to west on Connecticut Avenue at Everton Street. She had crossed the northbound lanes safely but was struck by a vehicle in the southbound lanes.
Detectives are requesting that anyone with information contact the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240.773.6620. Callers may remain anonymous.
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3 comments:

  1. JoeFebruary 28, 2013 at 4:10 PM

    We had a dear friend that was struck crossing Georgia Avenue just north of downtown Wheaton, in a marked crosswalk, a driver sped up to pass the bus (that our friend was trying to catch), and hit her....very hard. The police officer said that she was "illegally" in the street, despite being in the crosswalk.

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    Replies
    1. AvocadoFebruary 28, 2013 at 4:59 PM

      That is very disturbing! There is nothing "illegal" about crossing the street. See page 27 of the Maryland Driver's Manual where it says:

      "Pedestrians have the right-of-way at street crossings but must obey traffic control signals. Where a traffic signal is not present, vehicles must stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk, whether marked or unmarked when a pedestrian is:
      • on the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling; or,
      • approaching from the nearest lane on the other half of the roadway."

      It sounds like your friend thankfully wasn't badly hurt. Was a police report filed? This sounds like the sort of case personal injury lawyers take on -- against both the driver and the police person who said the wrong thing.

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  2. AvocadoMarch 5, 2013 at 3:22 PM

    UPDATE: A post today by Greater Greater Washington, "On crosswalks, research and safety campaigns conflict" offers another great perspective on this issue. Very well said.

    Synopsis: cross anywhere and it is legal! Unmarked crossings may be safer than those that are marked!

    http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/17872/on-crosswalks-research-and-safety-campaigns-conflict

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