Ira B

I was driving to a meeting tonight and about 200 yds ahead of me a pedestrian who was crossing the unlit highway was struck by several cars traveling at about 50 MPH.
I pulled over, turned on the flashers, grabbed a flashlight and went to see if I could render aid.

Nope.

The poor guy probably never even felt a thing.

Been around a lot of nasty but this was nasty.
The top of the guys skull had somehow been neatly lopped off and was sitting next to the tangled heap of what had moments before been his body. His brain was sitting just as pretty as you please as if on display about 10 ft. away??

Nothing to do with bikes specifically but I have crossed in that spot while riding quite a few time myself and take it as a little reminder. Get tagged square on by a car doing 50 mph and it is game over.

Please folks, be careful out there.

Pobble.808

Wow, sorry for the victim, but at least he's not feeling it now. Sorrier for his family. And for you. Hope you weren't all alone when you were out there with what was left of him. Thanks for trying, anyway.

buzzman

If this is true its a deeply disturbing post.

I hope you've got someone you can talk with more openly about your experience today. Coming home from such an incident and posting it in a commuter forum for cyclists doesn't seem to me the healthiest response if its your only opportunity to process such a traumatic event.

Very sad. Must have been a tough thing to witness.

fuji86

I've read about a few that were similar in the past year. Only it's disabled motorists though. Their car breaks down in the middle of I-95, only that they are to the far left if they even pull over and there's like 5-6 traffic lanes that they try to cross the interstate. And then they're doing it in the middle of the night so they think they have a fighting chance of making the crossing too. What happens, the first car gets them, then the tailgaters nail them sequentially as there is no room or time to react. Not even sure they are crossing on a section of the highway that has a clear view, might be a downside or valley from an on/off ramp. Anyway, usually none of the motorists stop, so the article is more a plea for anyone to come forward after running the person over.

A few years back I almost had one, his car broke down and there he was in the middle lanes of a 6 lane highway on the downside of that on/off ramp. Middle of the night and I was going along pretty good in Hollywood/Hallandale, FL section of I-95, almost got him sitting there in his car dead in the road.

Digital_Cowboy

Sadly, over in Tampa this week we had something similar happen. It was a mother who was pushing her baby in a stroller got hit and killed. It was on a dark road with no sidewalk.

chefisaac

people dont realize and cant judge how fast cars are going from a distance.

This is sad

Ekdog

How sad! This does have a lot to do with cycling, in my opinion. We need to ally with pedestrian groups and demand that speed limits in city centers be lowered.

tarwheel 

Very sad but I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. I see pedestrians crossing a very busy, fast 8-lane highway on my way to work (when I drive) all of time. They typically cross between lights rather than using their brains and crossing at a traffic light, and are usually wearing dark clothes. There also has been quite a few incidents here lately where motorists break down on the interstates and get hit trying to cross. Another recent accident occurred when a couple were having an argument, pulled over and got out of their car, and were both hit and killed. Nobody won that argument.

woodway

Yup, this is true. Very sad.

https://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...nfatality.html

Nitram612

Jaywalking is a crime for a reason. I wish pedestrians wouldn't gamble with their own life to save a few seconds or prove some kind of point.

RB1-luvr

good lord. that's horrible.

snowman40

My wife's car broke down (failed alternator, which then drained the battery) in the car pool lane on the 405 at dusk, no median (which is a brilliant design for highways...). It is a champagne colored car and is basically invisible where she broke down. I'm extremely happy I had the kids, and very fortunate that she didn't get creamed before CHP got there to push her to the side with the shoulder. Outside of 9/11, that was the most scared she's ever been.

snowman40

I got you beat! In my neighborhood, we have a light with crosswalks, not even a block past the light there is a ped bridge over the street. People chose jaywalking over either option. Hell, I've seen people jaywalk by the bridge!

My neighbors kids usually take the bikes to school, and I typically pass them at that light. I have half a mind to ask why they wait for the light instead of taking advantage of the green and using the bridge. They'd save about 90 seconds...o well, can't fix stupid.

Ira B

A bit of irony is that they have just decided to lower the speed limit in that spot due to the number of accidents but the new limit has not gone into effect yet. That said, I am really not sure it would have made much difference. If you could see the place it would be easier to understand.

It was a real horror show but after 10 years of search and rescue in the Coast Guard I have seen far too much of this sort of thing to remember. I am one of those people who just goes on auto pilot, tries to be helpful, then processes it later.
My heart and prayers especially go out to the drivers who hit the poor guy. It really wasn't their fault and both the drivers and their passengers were in full blown freak out melt down mode. They will probably have nightmares about this for the rest of their lives.

The short of it is that life is a sweet, precious and fragile thing. Please ride careful out there.

no motor?

I'm glad you're able to deal with things like this. I've had 4 semesters of gross anatomy, and don't think I could.

gmt13

I hate to see stories like this because they are absolutely preventable. I am absolutely amazed at the number of pedestrians who do risky road crossings. I have no problem with jaywalking but, my gosh, wait until you have a window of safety to do the cross.

It's not surprising, though, that people cross where they shouldn't. I commuted on foot for 15 years before I started cycling a year ago, and can say that. in their attempt to handle the needs of motorists. local government planners are not kind to pedestrians. Sometimes you are left with a choice to cross at an unauthorised place or walk a half mile out of your way.

-G

Seattle Forrest

I'm sorry you had to see that. It must have been horrible.

locolobo13 

Yes it is sad.

I see it too. Just last night, a woman towing 3 kids from toddler to maybe 10, all wearing dark clothes, about 1/2 block from a light just hopped out in the street right in front of me. Fortunately I was able to swerve into oncoming traffic 'cuz there was no oncoming traffic. We all need to be careful out there. But please if you're walking/biking with children think about them before doing something stupid.

unterhausen

that is the way the main drag through town is set up here -- there simply is no safe place for a pedestrian to cross. No crosswalks for miles, and obviously no pedestrian cycles for the traffic lights. They used to have no pedestrian crossing signs all over the place, but they took those down. It's clear that having 4 travel lanes and a suicide lane encourages speeding, and makes it so people go down this road rather than the parallel freeway. I am of the opinion they should reduce the width of the road to two travel lanes so that people in a hurry go the other way.

Ira B

My thanks and appreciation to the moderators for adding the warning to the thread title.
Sorry for omitting that caution when I started the thread.

Ira B

Turns out the victim was a 61 year old woman.
A sad day for Coupeville.

https://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/134116078.html

mnemia

Similar problems here. Large 8 lane arterial encourages speeding and makes for an impossible situation for pedestrians. 45 speed limit with many cars going 65-70 mph. If there are no crosswalks for miles, even at intersections, what do they expect people to do? Walk 10 miles to cross the street? I find blood to be on the hands of whomever designs roads like that.

I've seen a pedestrian get hit by a car before on a similar road. Luckily they were not seriously injured, but the violence of seeing a human body get tossed into the air by a car was still shocking. The driver had to have been just totally zoned out, because the ped just got caught in the middle of a very short green light cycle while running across. The idiot driver just floored it the second the light turned green, oblivious to what was in front of them. Then, they didn't even stop after seeing the woman they hit get up.

I made a complaint to the state DOT about the hazardous conditions, but they didn't even bother to respond despite laws requiring them to do so. Most of society just doesn't care if pedestrians die as long as they can drive their car as fast as they want while zoning out on the phone.

Ira B

Until you have seen it, it is difficult to imagine the violence of a human being struck by a fast moving car.
I took a good close look at this victim when trying to determine if there was anything helpful that could be done but still had no idea it had been a woman until she was identified in the news. Not much left of her but a horrible mess.
The only comfort to be had in it all is that she was literally gone before she hit the ground and didn't feel a thing.
Sure rough on everyone else involved though.

Wake

Best comment in this thread.

craigslist626

This is a good story to remind us all of our own mortality and the fact that we are indeed not invincible while on the road. Stay safe riding out there.