When crossing a street as a pedestrian in San Francisco, or anywhere for that matter, we are putting our safety in the hands of the drivers around us. Even when we are in the crosswalk and have a green light to walk across the street, the only real protection is the judgment and care of those that are behind the wheels of what could become steel and glass battering rams. Pedestrian accidents can cause serious injuries, when a pedestrian is struck by a car they have no protection against the force of the impact.
Fortunately, in the vast majority of circumstances pedestrian’s trust in drivers is well placed. Most drivers are careful to watch out for pedestrians and follow the relevant traffic regulations to keep pedestrians safe. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
A San Francisco pedestrian was seriously injured in what was described as a ‘brutal’ hit-and-run accident on Monday. The 47-year-old woman suffered severe head and leg trauma in the accident.
According to a news report, the driver of a pickup truck turned right on a red light in attempt to get in front of crossing traffic. At the same time a pedestrian had a green light and was starting to cross the street when she was struck by the pickup truck. A witness at the scene said that the driver of the truck paused briefly. But as the witness ran over to try to help the injured pedestrian the truck sped off.
The driver of the pickup truck was later located and arrested for felony hit-and-run and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Source: San Francisco Examiner, “Driver arrested in ‘brutal’ San Francisco hit-and-run,” Mike Aldax, Feb. 14, 2012