Hit-and-Run Accident on Watt Avenue Causes Pedestrian Injury
A pedestrian injury was reported in Sacramento on September 15 following a hit-and-run collision with a vehicle. The accident was reported at the intersection of Watt and Whitney avenues around 10:26 p.m. Information about the accident by the reporting California Highway Patrol (CHP) was sparse, and it was not said how serious the injuries were to the walker and whether that person was taken to a hospital for treatment. The accident will be investigated by the CHP to find out how the pedestrian injury accident occurred and to locate the fleeing driver.
Pedestrian Injury Accidents
Pedestrian injury accidents have become far too common in Sacramento as well as elsewhere in the state. While some of these accidents may be because there are more pedestrians going around on foot and a higher number of drivers, negligence of some sort is the usual cause. Accidents caused by negligent motorists or other entities often happen due to one of the following scenarios:
- The driver runs a stop sign or red light as someone is crossing an intersection in the crosswalk.
- A driver is planning a right turn at an intersection and is busy looking for oncoming traffic while neglecting to look for a pedestrian stepping off the curb.
- The traffic or crossing lights at an intersection are mistimed and change too soon, leaving the pedestrian in the median or only part way across.
- A driver makes an illegal U-turn, which ends up causing a pedestrian injury. By performing an illegal maneuver, others sharing the roadway are caught unexpectedly because they don’t anticipate a driver doing this.
- A motorist backs out of a parking space or driveway without checking for people walking past behind them. This is a common pedestrian injury accident that occurs in parking lots.
- A distracted driver is texting, talking with passengers or accessing their GPS and causes a pedestrian injury. Texting someone takes around five seconds, which is the same amount of time it takes for a vehicle to travel the length of a football field. In addition, it touches on all three categories of distracted driving because it involves the driver’s hands, mental focus, and line of sight.
- Fatigued drivers react the same way behind the wheel of a car as drunk drivers do. Because they have trouble staying alert and focusing on the task at hand, they can cause a pedestrian injury accident.
- Drunk drivers cause many accidents, including with pedestrians. They show a lack of judgment, poor reflexes and have problems just staying in their own lane.
- Jaywalkers are at high risk for pedestrian injury because drivers don’t look for pedestrians outside the crosswalks. However, drivers have a duty of care toward others and need to be alert to people on foot and cede them the right of way to avoid an accident.
Advice Following a Pedestrian Accident Injury
Pedestrians have the same legal rights as others using the roadways to claim compensation if they are injured by someone else’s negligence. We have helped many injured pedestrians obtain the compensation they deserve. In this way, all of their medical expenses associated with the accident will be reimbursed as well as their lost wages and damages for their pain and suffering.
Personal Injury Attorneys in Sacramento
I am Ed Smith, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer. If you suffered a pedestrian injury caused by a negligent driver or government negligence, call us at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. We can review your case, tell you whether you can place a claim, and answer any questions you might have. If you prefer, you can also reach us online.
My legal team and I have helped people in Sacramento and Northern California since 1982 to get the compensation they deserve in wrongful deaths, all types of car accidents, and other traffic collisions.
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Photo attribution: Image by Brian Merrill from Pixabay
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