[nagdu] Fw: [Njagdu] Disaster averted in downtown San Rafaelwhen Guide Dogstrio escape car on sidewalk - MarinIndependent Journal

Wed Jun 12 14:04:06 UTC 2013

What I meant was she was dumb and not watching what she was 
doing.  At least the fuide dog is safe.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:22:33 -0500
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fw: [Njagdu] Disaster averted in downtown 
San Rafaelwhen Guide Dogstrio escape car on sidewalk - 
MarinIndependent Journal

Oh, I would say the 93-year-old lady is not dumb.  She is 
probably someone who should have given up her license long ago, 
and if she had family, they probably were debating that issue 
even as she did what she did.  It is difficult when the car 
becomes your symbol of independence to give it up.  It is truly 
wonderful that no one was hurt or killed, and it sounds as if the 
dog is none the worse for it.  That will be an amazing dog.

Cindy Lou

On Jun 12, 2013, at 8:20 AM, Portia <portiaprincess at gmail.com> 
wrote:

 You know, it's lucky that the lady didnt kill others either.  
She is really dumb and should gets her license taken and deserves 
to have someone who can drive drive her around and see how she 
feels.  It disgusts me when people think they can drive, when 
they obviously can't.

 Portia.

 Sent from my iPhone

 On Jun 12, 2013, at 5:54 AM, "Tracy Carcione" 
<carcione at access.net> wrote:

 And here's another version.  I hope ythe old lady is taken off 
the road.

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Ginger Kutsch
 To: New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users
 Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 7:53 AM
 Subject: [Njagdu] Disaster averted in downtown San Rafael when 
Guide Dogstrio escape car on sidewalk - Marin Independent Journal

 Disaster averted in downtown San Rafael when Guide Dogs trio 
escape car on sidewalk - Marin Independent Journal

http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_23439366/disaster-averted-dow
ntown-san-rafael-when-guide-dogs

 A mid-morning stroll in downtown San Rafael nearly turned 
disastrous when a 93-year-old woman drove backward down a 
sidewalk, narrowly missing two employees and a dog from Guide 
Dogs for the Blind.

 "It was just an unbelievable sight to see something going 
backwards, barreling down the sidewalk," said Todd Jurek, a 
training supervisor for Guide Dogs for the Blind.  He quickly 
herded the fellow employee and dog out of harm's way when he 
noticed the dog jerk its head to look behind them.

 The dramatic scene, captured on video by a private security 
camera mounted on a nearby building, can be viewed at 
www.marinij.com.

 The incident occurred at about 11:30 a.m.  Monday, when Jurek 
and Danielle Alvarado, an apprentice instructor, were walking on 
Fourth Street near E Street with an 18-month-old yellow Labrador 
retriever, O'Neil.

 Jurek, 48, of Petaluma, said he was spotting Alvarado, who was 
blindfolded, and assessing O'Neil's guide dog skills when he 
noticed O'Neil turn around to look behind him.  When Jurek looked 
back to see what had caught O'Neil's attention, he saw a black 
car headed straight for them.

 The surveillance video shows the three walking down Fourth and 
then Jurek running and pushing Alvarado around an E Street corner 
seconds before a black car speeds backwards down the sidewalk, 
smashing a store window and finally coming to rest on the 
opposite corner of Fourth and E streets.

 Jurek said he heard the glass window break, but it was O'Neil 
who turned his head first to see what was happening.

 "He probably heard the commotion before the window popped," 
Jurek said.

 As the car tore down the sidewalk, it hit a city bench, nicked a 
stop light and barely missed colliding with another car.  Jurek 
said he just grabbed Alvarado and yelled "go, go, go!" as one of 
the car's doors came off and pieces of the vehicle flew 
everywhere.

 "My thought was, is this car going to continue around the corner 
and are its debris going to fly at us?" Jurek said.

 Miraculously, no one was injured in the incident, including the 
driver and her passenger, Jurek said.

 San Rafael police Sgt.  Raul Aguilar said the driver of the car, 
a San Rafael resident, is not suspected of intoxication and did 
not appear to have a medical emergency before the incident.

 The investigation is continuing, but the preliminary theory is 
that the woman put the car in reverse instead of forward, and the 
angle of the wheels sent her up on the sidewalk, Aguilar said.

 The police department is requesting a reexamination of the woman 
by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

 Jurek, who has worked for Guide Dogs for 21 years, called

 the incident a one-in-a-million event in which both the dog and 
handler responded correctly - with O'Neil turning back around to 
help move Alvarado out of harm's way, and Alvarado not letting go 
of the dog's leash.

 "You can't train a dog for such a dramatic incident," Jurek 
said.

 O'Neil underwent additional traffic training and testing 
Tuesday, just to confirm he wasn't traumatized by the incident.  
Jurek said the courageous canine is in the midst of his final 
testing and will soon be protecting one of the Guide Dog's blind 
or sight-impaired clients.

 "He'll get placed with someone likely in the next two or three 
weeks," Jurek said.

 Contact Megan Hansen via email at mhansen at marinij.com or via 
Twitter at http://twitter.com/hansenmegan

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