I witnessed an accident this morning. A cyclist was coming east bound in the crosswalk (with the light) across 24th street at Lincoln Circle. A car in northbound lane of 24th ran the light and blocked the crosswalk...and stopped because of traffic in front of him. The cyclist, a young woman, frustrated by being cut off, slapped the hood of the guy's car. Bad move. But wait...there's more.
The driver, enraged, gets out of his car and starts running toward the cyclist. Crap, I thought, he's going to attack her. Except he forgot one thing: to put his car in "park."
So he steps for the cyclist and his car keeps going down 24th street without him, edging over into the left lane (maybe it thought the cyclist was going to hit it again). In doing so, it nearly pinned the cyclist and the driver against another car. Fortunately the hothead driver was able to get back in and put the thing in park (not before howling in pain).
Luckily no one was really hurt, though I expect the car driver to have some nasty bruises.
I called 911 and filed a statement with the police once they got there and sorted things out. As I was leaving the car driver came to me and introduced himself (one wouldn't think that after you've almost crushed a cyclist under the wheels of your car that you'd turn it into a networking opportunity, but this is Washington). I politely told him to share the road...to which he began explaining to me it was the cyclists' fault.
Sensing that my work there was finished, I remounted my bike and made it (safely) to work.
1 comment:
I would've said, "Sir, with respect, you entered the intersection even though you must've known the timing of the light would've caused you to have been blocking the crosswalk. The cyclist certainly didn't have to smack your car, but you were blocking the crosswalk with your vehicle, and, as a pedestrian, I can tell you that a blocked crosswalk is far more dangerous for those who have to cross it than someone smacking your vehicle is to either the vehicle in question or any occupants."
Except I would've said "fuck" a lot more.
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