Thursday, January 03, 2008
First pedestrian fatality of 2008 underlines city/state's failure to protect pedestrians
Where's the enforcement? What wasn't done in this case?
A 93-year-old man became Oahu’s first traffic fatality of the new year this morning after he was hit by a car yesterday evening.
At 5:25 p.m., the victim was in a marked crosswalk just north of Dowsett Avenue. He tried to cross the Pali Highway toward Ewa, when he was struck by a vehicle traveling Kailua-bound. He was identified as Chung Rak Ha by the city Medical Examiner’s office.
Police said the driver, a 47-year-old Kailua man, apparently tried to slow down but was unable to dodge the victim. [Star-Bulletin, 1/3/2008]
Cars are supposed to stop, not "dodge the victim"s, so I don't understand this. Maybe more information will come out.
(click image for larger)
Pali Highway has long been a problem area, along with several others where problems have gone on for years. When rumble strips were removed about four years ago, it was to be in exchange for HPD enforcement of speed limits. Has this happened? Was speed a factor in this avoidable death?
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