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

Sat Oct 9 14:18:31 UTC 2010

This happens here in New York City all of the time.  I would say that almost once a day if not twice.  The most notable was when this happened by a bus operator of a transit vehicle.
--- On Sat, 10/9/10, Susan Jones <sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> From: Susan Jones <sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man struck, dog killed this morning in Burlco, New Jersey
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Saturday, October 9, 2010, 7:44 AM
> 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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