[nagdu] Blind man struck, dog killed this morning in Burlco, New Jersey

[Susan Jones]

Just this week, I had a car zoom in front of me.  He had turned off of the
parallel street while I was crossing the cross street.
Unnerving?  You bet!


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jewel S.
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2010 5:58 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man struck, dog killed this morning in Burlco,
New Jersey

What I don't get is why they don't immediately arrest the driver for assault
with a deadly weapon! A vehicle, in legal terms, is a deadly weapon when it
strikes another person, unless it is not the driver's fault (such as a
person jumping in front of the vehicle). If the man was wearing a reflective
vest, crossing at an intersection and walking with a guide dog, why the hell
didn't the truck stop?

Over and over, I see "no charges have been pressed and it's under
investigation," but in a case like this, isn't it obvious it was the
driver's fault? White Cane Laws protect blind pedestrians from fault at
intersections,a nd some protect blind pedestrians even if they cross where
there is no intersection or crosswalk. The fault *always* ies ith the driver
at intersections if the person is obviously holding a white cane or working
with a guide dog.

Things like this is why I want to see police stings at intersections, with
people crossing with a white cane and requiring people to completely yield.
Here in North Carolina, that means coming to a complete stop until the blind
pedestrian (with white cane or guide
dog) is completely across the crosswalk (on the sidewalk or over the curb).
This means you can't zoom in front of the pedestrian (as I've seen many
times, where they decide they have just enough time to sneak in front of the
pedestrian), and they can't zoom behind the pedestrian because hey, the
pedestrian isn't on *that* part of the crosswalk anymore...but what if the
blind person gets confused by the sound of a car moving behind him and turns
back? Not everyone has good O&M skills, and some people have additional
disabilities that mean they are disoriented. I know this from personal
experiences. I have days where I am in a fog. A friend told me she saw me
crossing a street, wavering and looking obviously confused, turning around
in the middle of the crosswalk, and walking back a few steps. I don't
remember the situation, as I was in a bad fog due to a new medication I was
taken (a strong pain killer that affects memory and orientation). She told
me later that she pulled over, stepped over to me and gestured for cars to
stop, because they were zooming around me on the crosswalk since they had
the green light and didn't want to wait for me...this left me stranded in
the middle of the crosswalk between traffic. Thank goodness my friend came
along when I was completely out of it.

It is absolutely ridiculous all these pedestrians getting hit in crosswalks.
It is not just blind pedestrians, though they are more likely to get in the
papers. Hundred of pedestrians get hit by vehicles while crossing at a
crosswalk, and many more get hit while jaywalking (a no-no, but it happens).
There needs to be some kind of program to enforce the law and force drivers
to pay attention to pedestrians. For one, they need to stop texting, talking
on the phone, reading, eating cereal (I've seen this!), applying makeup, and
browsing the internet while driving. They need to pay attention to the road
and their surroundings, not what is going on in the vehicle. I think for
one, driver's education should be stricter, and all states should require
full driver's education classes before taking the test.
Here in North Carolina, driver's education is not mandatory, and I think
this is part of the reason there are so many horrid drivers in North
Carolina.

Ok, rant over. Back to your friendly chat.



On 10/6/10, Ginger Kutsch <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Blind man struck, dog killed this morning in Burlco 
> CourierPostOnline.com . October 6, 2010
> http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20101006/NEWS01/10100605
> 9/Blind-man-struck-dog-killed-this-morning-in-Burlco
> A blind Moorestown man and his guide dog were struck by a vehicle 
> while crossing a township street this morning.
>
>
>
>
> Gordon Parks, 68, of New Albany Road, was crossing Camden Avenue with 
> his guide dog Wendy about 9:30 a.m. when they were struck by an 
> eastbound pickup driven by Tabernacle resident Wayne T.
> Morris, 72, police said.
>
> The dog, Wendy, was killed by the impact and Parks, who was wearing an 
> orange reflective vest, was thrown into the westbound lane of Camden 
> Avenue, police said.
>
> Parks was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, police 
> said. Park's condition was not immediately available. N
>
> No charges have been filed in relation to the accident, which remains 
> under investigation.
>
> Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact Sgt. 
> Randy Pugh or Patrolman George Hubel at (856) 914-3045.
>
>
>
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--
~Jewel
Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com

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