[Quietcars] Morristown Accident, December 20, 2009

[michael townsend]

I share this note that I wrote to the NFB sponsored quietcars list on the
below article. 

Mike T

Bob, thanks for sharing this article. I offer the following as a personal
note. 

I know the person who was hit by the car, and there are several factors
which are not in the story. Bob, you answered the question that was on my
mind. Was the car a hybrid? No, because the Avenger does NOT come in such
trim. It has either a V6 3.5 liter engine or a four cylinder, if it's an
older one, both of which are extremely quiet at idle or lower speeds. 

The person who was hit, around five p.m., was wearing darker clothing and
has a black lab Seeing eye dog. She, as well as other Seeing Eye grads, and
I would assume most other schools encourage this as well, are encouraged to
wear light collared clothing when they're out, and also to use some sort of
light reflective vests, or light emitting bands or clip-ons when working in
dusk, or darkened conditions. Cane travelers would be equally better seen if
they would do so as well. Sometimes, we blind think that just because we're
out there, someone sees us. And, the fact is, whether the assistant
prosecutor who hit her saw her or not, it is better to error on the side of
caution than not. I personally have several of the reflective vests and wear
them when I'm out at night, as they cause no inconvenience to me, they're
easily put on and taken off and stored in a backpack when not in use, and
they have saved my life on several occasions. They are easily purchased at
sporting goods stores or ordered through any guide dog school or perhaps an
agency who teaches mobility...or at least they should know something about
where to get such equipment. Check that out for your own safety to keep you
from being a casualty as we saw in the below article.
The victim was hit and has a dislocated and fractured knee at present,
cannot walk on her right leg as that is the one which was injured and is
rehabbing with her parents. 

Mike T in NJ. 

-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:quietcars-bounces%40nfbnet.org>
[mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:quietcars-bounces%40nfbnet.org>
] On Behalf Of Robert Wilson
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 1:11 PM
To: quietcars at nfbnet.org <mailto:quietcars%40nfbnet.org>
Subject: [Quietcars] Morristown Accident, December 20, 2009

Hi,

I've been tracking pedestrian accidents and on December 20, there was a
report of a blind pedestrian with a seeing eye dog:

"MORRISTOWN -- A Morris County assistant prosecutor was issued a summons for
striking a blind woman as he drove his car out of the county administration
building in Morristown, authorities said.

The woman suffered a leg injury. Her guide dog was not hurt.

Assistant Prosecutor Leslie Wade was issued a summons in the mail for the
Dec. 18 incident, which happened just before 5 p.m., at the intersection of
Schuyler Place and Ann Street, according to a release from Morris County
Prosecutor Robert Bianchi.

The 48-year-old woman was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital, where she
was treated and released. Her name was not given.

She was hit after just stepping off the curb to cross the roadway, according
to the prosecutor's office.

Wade, who is a supervising assistant prosecutor, stopped the county vehicle
and called police to report the accident and request medical attention. The
Morris County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Section responded at
the request of the prosecutor's office to photograph and document the
scene.. . ."
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/morris_county_assistant_prosec.html
<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/morris_county_assistant_prosec.htm
l>
I called the Morristown police department and the clerk read from the
accident report the vehicle make and model: Dodge, Avenger, black. This is a
3,355 pound, sedan that is part of the Morris County car pool. 

Bob Wilson