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Driver hits man crossing street in Santa Maria

September 8, 2014

ambulanceA 17-year-old driver crashed into a man walking a bicycle across a street in Santa Maria Saturday night, leaving him with a serious head injury.

The victim was pushing his bicycle across the intersection of Broadway and Inger Drive when the car crashed into him. Responders transported the bicyclist to a nearby hospital, where he remained in the ICU Saturday night.

Santa Maria police say they do not believe the driver was under the influence of alcohol. They are, however, investigating whether the pedestrian had been drinking prior to the collision.

Witnesses said the pedestrian was difficult to see in the dark and opted not to yield to oncoming traffic.

In San Luis Obispo County, a 2011 crash that left a pedestrian dead resulted in a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city of Pismo and the Cliff’s Resort. The case recently concluded with the victim’s family collecting about $1.5 million each from the city and the hotel.


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I think everyone should withhold judgment until more facts are reported. (I know this goes against the impulse of most CCN readers but we really don’t have enough information based on this article to come to ANY conclusions.)


BTW, nearby businesses are not responsible for lighting up crosswalks on major, 4-lane streets. If the lighting is inadequate there it may be the City of Santa Maria’s fault but I am not sure that is the case. I think this intersection is by Iverson Motors and I don’t remember that area to be poorly lit in any case.


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If the lighting is inadequate than it is the pedestrians fault for wandering out in front of traffic in dark clothing, not Santa Maria’s fault. What do you want, to have the entire city lit up like a stadium?


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Not a crosswalk there and did you not read the article about what the witnesses said? Didn’t think so…


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Pedestrians have the right of way at intersections regardless of whether there are painted crosswalks. That’s California law. However, since most drivers either don’t know the law or simply ignore it, pedestrians risk their lives whenever they cross a street.


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Yeah, and he is dead. Way to assert your “rights”.


And, you are only partially right. They have the right-of-way if they are safely in the intersection to begin with. The law also states that the pedestrian must exercise due regard for their own safety. They do not ALWAYS have the right-of-way no matter what.


Pedestrians and bicyclists are some of the dumbest people I have ever seen in public.


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If you walk out into traffic this can happen, cars don’t stop on a dime you know.


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