[nagdu] Fw: [Njagdu] Disaster averted in downtown San Rafael when Guide Dogstrio escape car on sidewalk - Marin Independent Journal

Wed Jun 12 20:26:40 UTC 2013

 but it is about being safe. wile driving.
  it could be anyone of us out there,

On Jun 12, 2013, at 12:17 PM, Star Gazer wrote:

> She may not be dumb. She also may not have been aware how bad her driving
> had gotten. 
> My grandpa was in a car accident several years back. He's old and the
> assumption was that he was too old to be driving. Turns out the car had a
> mechanical failure. 
> I don't know if that was the case here, or if the woman really shouldn't be
> driving. Odds are, her family had concerns, but "taking the keys away" isn't
> as easy as it might seem. 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Portia
> Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 9:20 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fw: [Njagdu] Disaster averted in downtown San Rafael
> when Guide Dogstrio escape car on sidewalk - Marin Independent Journal
> 
> 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-downtown
>> -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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