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Pedestrian struck by car on Madison at 19th

A pedestrian crossing E Madison was struck by a car and sent to the hospital just before the 5 PM rush hour Tuesday.

The male victim appeared alert and conscious but was strapped to a backboard by a responding emergency crew after being struck by the westbound vehicle, according to Seattle Fire radio.

The driver remained at the scene and was being interviewed by police. The car with a dented hood and shattered windshield was parked nearby. The driver did not suffer any serious injury in the collision. UPDATE: The driver was not cited in the incident, according to SPD.

The pedestrian was hit near the intersection of Madison and 19th Ave and landed well west of the intersection.

Traffic in the area was blocked off shortly after medics were called to the scene at 4:52 PM.

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Lynfordd
Lynfordd
8 years ago

I really wish something could be done about getting the police to enforce the pedestrian cross walk laws! Capitol Hill is just like Southlake union a lot of places you’re taking your life in your own hands crossing the street . You think it could be a great moneymaker for the police If they care to enforce the laws for pedestrians. Sure hope the person struck has a full and speedy recovery .

Joseph Singer
Joseph Singer
8 years ago
Reply to  Lynfordd

Madison Street has been shown to have speeders. It’s the design of the street. Hopefully when they do the re-design of the street they can somehow change it so people won’t go 40 MPH in a 30 zone.

I fear for my life and won’t bike on Madison Street.

Steve
8 years ago
Reply to  Joseph Singer

I live in Lawrence Lofts, at 19th and Madison, right where this happened. I agree – Madison is a freeway and SPD never seems to do any enforcement. I’ve seen many near misses, and having to come and go on it all the time, I don’t like it at all.

bb
bb
8 years ago
Reply to  Lynfordd

The same goes for motorists who refuse to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

Kerry
Kerry
8 years ago
Reply to  Lynfordd

Every time I’ve been hit by a car (yes, it’s happened more than once) I’ve been in a crosswalk or on the sidewalk. I know more people who’ve gotten jaywalking tickets than moving violations in Seattle. The cops already enforce the jaywalking laws just fine.

Optimum
Optimum
8 years ago

Good points but Seattle has vocally stated that it doesn’t want policing of much of anything, regardless of the price to public safety.

Check the facts
Check the facts
8 years ago

Hope that the victim is OK. But I caution writers to riff off this accident absent the facts. Was this a person at a crosswalk?Or was it someone carelessly crossing against a light or mid-block? Did the driver break any rules?

On many an occasion, only by dint of paying attention to an idiot dressed in all black at night, an a–hole sauntering across the street on a red light, a cyclist going the wrong way and careening through lights etc, has a life been preserved. Had they been hit, I suspect I and others in the same situation would have felt terrible, but not be cited.

jman
jman
8 years ago

One of my roommates saw a man get hit here. He was talking on his iphone and walked against a no walk sign directly into traffic. Seriously injured.

Eli
Eli
8 years ago

Thanks, but we know that in Seattle’s own data, the driver is at fault in majority of pedestrian collisions. So I’d similarly avoid insinuating that this pedestrian who is now in the hospital may have just had a death wish and acted negligently.

Similarly, you might want to avoid calling this collision an ‘accident’ in the absence of proof that it actually indeed was an accident (e.g. the driver hit some kind of slippery surface and couldn’t control his or her own car):

http://crashnotaccident.com

kp
kp
8 years ago
Reply to  Eli

Eli makes a good point about a slippery surface because at that intersection on Madison, it is slippery when wet. I reported it to SDOT, since they have something they can spread on the road to absorb the oils. Then a couple days later saw another vehicle losing traction at that point. The picture has some sun flare in the upper right hand corner, which as we might expect this time of year, the sun may play a factor in not seeing a pedestrian, who may be jaywalking. At the intersection, we would expect pedestrians, but I’ve surprised there after coming around a corner and seeing people walking across the street in the middle of the block. Those of us who have lived in Seattle their entire lives are not use to people crossing the street randomly.

Joseph Singer
Joseph Singer
8 years ago

“On many an occasion, only by dint of paying attention to an idiot dressed in all black at night, an a–hole sauntering across the street on a red light, a cyclist going the wrong way and careening through lights etc, has a life been preserved. Had they been hit, I suspect I and others in the same situation would have felt terrible, but not be cited.”

Oh yes, let’s blame the victim. That always works. How many people do you know that wear bright reflective clothing at night just so they won’t be hit? I thought so. You likely do not know anyone.

Andrew taylor
Andrew taylor
8 years ago
Reply to  Joseph Singer

“How many people do you know that wear bright reflective clothing at night just so they won’t be hit? ” My late wife deliberately chose a white winter coat for her winter walks to and from work.

citycat
citycat
8 years ago
Reply to  Andrew taylor

Fellow pedestrian commuters, you can buy umbrellas with a reflective band. They really help on dark rainy nights and are very sturdy. I have had mine for over a year, and it has held up to terrible wind and rain. I did a test in my back yard to see how reflective it is, and it is bright. I got mine at the Bartell’s on Rainier but would imagine that the Capitol Hill store has them.

I hope the person who was hit is okay. This is a terrible incident.

Check the facts
Check the facts
8 years ago
Reply to  Joseph Singer

Yes, as a matter of fact, if a person is walking down a dark street, in dark clothes and is hit by a prudent driver who did not see them, I do blame the victim and they deserve it every bit as much as an unlit car or bicyclist driving at night. We have laws about driving with lights and a person who was prudent and hit an unlighted car or cyclist might be let off. We have not made clear to pedestrians and some are clueless that what they wear impacts their visibility or invisibility. Shine a light on a black clad person at night and how easy is it to see, especially if said light is at a distance. and indirect, while one is driving at speed limit.

WHAT???
WHAT???
8 years ago

Hey! Nobody but nobody DESERVES to get hit by a car. I don’t care how they are dressed. What an incredibly asinine comment.

Check the facts
Check the facts
8 years ago
Reply to  WHAT???

Please, blaming the idiot who is not visible is far different than saying they deserve to be hit. My heart goes out to all victims, but sometimes they cause their own problem. If a car hits a black clad pedestrian, someone is at fault. Blaming the driver is not saying that we hoped they would hit someone. Blaming the pedestrian is not saying we hope they are hit.

Joseph Singer
Joseph Singer
8 years ago

Ah, I see. We should blame the victim because they weren’t wearing a day glow yellow jacket or a reflective construction vest. So the problem comes down to poor choice in clothing rather than the driver’s fault, eh?

DM
DM
8 years ago

I’ve lived at this intersection for a little over 2 years now. There have been numerous – and really bad – accidents involving cars and motorcycles, cars and bicycles, cars and pedestrians. Many drivers seem to be going about 50 miles an hour on this part of Madison. The City needs to wake up and realize that this is a public safety problem.

Glenn
Glenn
8 years ago

Sun, evident from the photos, can make visibility incredibly difficukt for west bound drivers at that location at this time of year. If a pedestrian is heading south crossing the street they are in the shaded area, while the driver is looking into the sun, making them very hard to see. Dont know if that happened here but it may have”

I have avoided many inattentive drivers as a pedestrian and an equal number of clueless pedestrians while driving. The old rules still apply without regard to right of way or perception of fault. Pay attention, protect yourself, and try to avoid being in this situation.

genevieve
genevieve
8 years ago
Reply to  Glenn

my (walking) commute included this portion of Madison for 7 years – and your assessment of the afternoon visibility is spot on.

I hope the pedestrian recovers.

AbleDanger12
AbleDanger12
8 years ago

Judging by the photo it looks like jaywalking. Sounds to me like short of gross negligence it is unlikely to be the driver’s fault.

Pedestrians in this city are fearless – cruising across crosswalks (and not in crosswalks) like just because they have the right of way they’re protected. Having right of way doesn’t absolve one of the responsibility to be aware of your surroundings – after all, what good is it if you’re dead right?

DB McWeeberton
DB McWeeberton
8 years ago
Reply to  AbleDanger12

Obviously, both drivers and pedestrians can be at fault, in these situations. I’m a non-driver, but can accept that there are walkers out there with no sense. However, an inattentive driver is *infinitely* more deadly to others than an inattentive pedestrian.

Also, having lived in Boston I would call Seattle pedestrians timorous, not fearless. And many Seattle drivers seem completely unaware that pedestrians have the right of way, even at crosswalks.

CC
CC
8 years ago
Reply to  AbleDanger12

He was at the crosswalk with a walk sign. He was thrown by the impact. Please do not spread rumors that impugn an innocent victim or downplay the serious danger of this intersection. Drivers run red lights here routinely.

CC
CC
8 years ago

I was there. The pedestrian was in the crosswalk. The driver ran a red light. The location was because he was thrown so far from the impact. It was horrible. It’s disappointing to see people wildly speculate and blame him with no information.

On a positive note, everyone at the scene was amazing. People rushed to aid the victim, call 911, and safely redirect traffic.

Best wishes to this poor guy.

Gordon
8 years ago
Reply to  CC

CC, wow sounds traumatic even to witness. Do you know why if the driver ran a red light and struck this man why on Earth didn’t the police cite the driver? Did you let the police know what happened? Thanks for being a good samaritan.

CC
CC
8 years ago
Reply to  Gordon

I’m stunned to hear that, as there were a dozen witnesses, and the red-light run was flagrant. The driver spoke little English; maybe he was a tourist leaving the country? Yes, I gave a statement to the police at the scene. So did many others, and all of us saw the light being run. There were other pedestrians in the crosswalk at the time. Just awful.

SeattleCarol
SeattleCarol
8 years ago
Reply to  CC

Police Agencies frequently do a complete investigation before issuing citations in this type of incident. Don’t worry – your witness statements do matter.

CC
CC
8 years ago
Reply to  SeattleCarol

Thanks for the information. I was getting pretty upset thinking the driver had gotten away with no repercussions. In fairness, I will note that he stopped and waited for police.

Joe Turner
Joe Turner
8 years ago
Reply to  SeattleCarol

please, do not bike on Madison! i see bikers going up the hill at about 7 mph while a lot of traffic zips by at 30 . its a dumb place to bike. there are a lot easier and safer ways to cross that stretch of town

Joseph Singer
Joseph Singer
8 years ago
Reply to  Joe Turner

Care to say where this “easier” place might be?

David Holmes
David Holmes
8 years ago

As others have pointed out, people drive really fast on Madison, and the farther east you go, the speedier they get. The city should devolve that road into something less speedable.

disgusted
disgusted
8 years ago

I recently wrote a letter to the mayor addressing the peril that pedestrians face due to distracted, agressive and speeding drivers around the neighborhood after nearly being hit with my infant daughter in a stroller a couple of times in a marked crosswalk. I asked if an emphasis patrol could be placed to warn drivers that stopping at crosswalks is the law.
I got a call from an officer a while later who explained that there is only one or two officers in the entire city assigned to this kind of duty that and they were too swamped to deal with my problem.
An e-mail followed that said the case was closed even though nothing was done.

Walking
Walking
8 years ago
Reply to  disgusted

That is so frustrating!

I would love to see statistics around what officers ARE doing with their time on a day to day basis in our neighborhood.

Becka
Becka
8 years ago
Reply to  disgusted

I wouldn’t say no to increased police enforcement for speed limits and yielding at crosswalks, but the best solution would be to reconfigure the street to make it narrower, with sidewalk bulb-outs at intersections. Maybe some additional street trees too.

ChuDlife
ChuDlife
8 years ago

Maybe we need a law requiring all motor vehicles have a 14″ yellow reflective stripe all around the vehicle at 36″ above the pavement, and also emit a beeping sound every 2 seconds.

krry
krry
8 years ago
Reply to  ChuDlife

So that when someone runs a red light (as the driver reportedly did here) and plows into pedestrians in the crosswalk we’ll all get a nice light show? If a car is going fast enough to throw a body in the air and many feet away, I don’t think beeps and lights would really have helped very much.

Paul on Bellevue
Paul on Bellevue
8 years ago

Drivers on the Hill need to slow the eff down! As my screen name indicates, I live on Bellevue, and routinely see drivers exceeding 40 or 45. Plus, no marked crosswalks north of Denny, and drivers don’t seem to know (or care) that all intersections in WA are legal crosswalks, marked or not. Not to mention right and left turning cars that almost hit pedestrians who have the walk light. I’m not looking forward to the first week after Daylight Savings Time ends, and will exercise extra caution when walking around. Sick of it.

Paul on Bellevue
Paul on Bellevue
8 years ago

P.S. I hope this poor guys pulls through.

Evangelist Barbara Boyd
Evangelist Barbara Boyd
8 years ago

Drivers need to have strong accountability with the police and they need to put themselves in the pedestrian shoes ,would they want to have someone run over them or their children. i was coming from the doctor and a car almost ran ober me,i will get their liscense plate numbet,drivers .should not be allowed to drive across the .pedestrian cross way until.person completely cross over to their destination.