A 71-year-old man was pronounced dead on Thursday night at Carle Foundation Hospital after being hit by a pickup truck while riding home on his motorized scooter. The deceased was crossing Vine Street in Urbana, Illinois when the driver came out of nowhere and collided with the scooter. So far, the pickup truck driver has been issued a failure to yield to a pedestrian ticket and submitted to urine sampling, all of which were negative for all substances.
Crossing the road may seem routine: look both ways and quickly make your way to the other side. Although it may seem mundane to cross the road, situations can easily arise that make this seemingly small task much more dangerous. To protect yourself from harm, follow these steps:
- Check each direction twice. Although it is unlikely that you would have missed an oncoming vehicle while looking first, it is possible for our vision to be impaired by landmarks getting in the way. Checking each direction more than one time ensures that you are aware of the surrounding vehicles.
- Always cross at a cross walk, when available. When crossing the street, the safest place to cross is at a cross walk. Cross walks are areas in the intersection of two or more streets that allow pedestrians to walk across the street for an allotted amount of time without oncoming traffic. Cross walks are designed to alert drivers of pedestrians crossing, thus making it the safest place to cross the street.
- Cross to a sidewalk. When attempting to cross the street, your destination should be the nearest sidewalk. Sidewalks are far enough off the road for drivers to be able to see a pedestrian and to allow pedestrians to travel without hinderance.
- When in doubt, wait. When observing traffic in preparation to cross, it is important to understand that waiting for a vehicle to pass is safer than trying to anticipate a driver’s intentions.
Although we can follow all these steps to try to ensure our safety while crossing the street, sometimes our eyes fail us and we may not see a vehicle approaching, or a vehicle may not see a pedestrian. If you or a loved one has recently been injured while crossing the street as a pedestrian, it is important to know that you have options. First, seek medical attention immediately to care for your injuries. Next, document your pain levels, both physically and emotionally. After properly caring for the injuries sustained, hiring an attorney who is experienced in fighting for the injured party is important to ensuring you receive the proper compensation. The personal injury lawyers at Spiros Law, P.C. are ready to fight for anyone who has been injured at the fault of another person. Call [firm-number] or visit our office in Champaign to set up a free consultation today.
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