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Pedestrian hit by car in SLO

October 7, 2015

ambulance 4Within minutes of a fatal collision in Los Osos Tuesday night, an accident involving a car and a pedestrian also occurred in San Luis Obispo. [KSBY]

At 8:42 p.m., a female driver collided with a man who was crossing Broad Street near Branch Street in between the Gaslight Lounge and Village Host Pizza & Grill. The man was taken to Sierra Vista hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.

San Luis Obispo police say the pedestrian was at fault in the collision. He was wearing all dark clothing, and the driver did not see him. Also, the pedestrian had been drinking, police say.

Around 8:30 p.m., a driver collided with 24-year-old Michael Brito as he was attempting to cross Los Osos Valley road. Michael Brito was the third member of his family to die a crash in the last 12 months.


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A local company called Sunset Skateboards sells skateboard wheels that light up. They can be seen from at least 100 feet away. Anyone who skateboards should have these, as they make the skater visible at night. At $40/set they are the best safety item available! http://www.sunsetskateboards.com


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There seems to be an ever growing number of drunks and homeless people crossing Broad Street at all hours of the day and night. Quite often these people are just 20 or fewer steps from a cross walk or intersection. People on bicycles constantly dodge into the traffic lanes and shoot across the oncoming traffic. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I just barely managed to spot someone dressed in dark clothing jay walking across the street in the dark.


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I always like to point out these intellectual giants that wear dark, non-reflective clothing as they walk, skate or ride in the dark, to my kids as an example of stupidity on display. “How, do you think, are cars supposed to see them?” – hopefully, my kids will remember this.


It’s like the cyclists that ignore traffic rules, ride on sidewalks, wrong way, etc. Heck, I saw a dude do that WHILE wearing dark clothes, and had no light / reflectors on his bike. Genius. Oh, Darwin, wherefore art thou?


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Which one do you feel sympathy for!


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This is not the first accident in that very same spot involving a pedestrian and a car. A few years ago, there was an accident with the same scenario.. A woman, crossing the street at approximately 10 pm was struck by the side mirror of a Honda Civic, dragging her to the ground.

Because the two lanes merge at that very spot, the drivers are blinded at night by anyone merging behind them.

Witnesses at the scene said the pedestrian had been carrying a paper bag full of alcohol, which broke and remained on the street after the police and the ambulances left.

The pedestrian survived, but had a terrible leg break and required several surgeries.

The merging lanes, with the poor lighting on the street and having liquor store and a bar where pedestrians use to cross all add up to accidents. The street needs better lighting and bright flashing yellow reflectors like the ones on downtown near the post office. The flashing lights and a well lit street lamps may prevent accidents and even death in the future,


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Maybe LESS lights would be the answer. You certainly can’t miss a car’s headlights if we’re not inundated by street lights, porch lights, walkways lights, stop lights, etc.. etc.. etc..


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Yeah nevermind let’s keep all the unnecessary lights on. No reason to grow up as a society and curb any waste or planetary destruction. Full steam ahead!


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I don’t know why people voted your comment down. There have been many studies that show that too much lighting when poorly designed will cause glare and actually reduce visibility at night rather that increase it. Outdoor lighting is intended to enhance safety and security at night, but too much lighting can actually have the opposite effect. Visibility should always be the goal. Glare from bright, unshielded lights actually decreases safety because it shines into our eyes and constricts our pupils. This can not only be blinding, it also makes it more difficult for our eyes to adjust to low-light conditions. According to a 2012 report of the American Medical Association, “Glare from nighttime lighting can create hazards ranging from discomfort to frank visual disability.”


Luckily, in SLO city, almost all of the horrible old style street lights that shot light and glare in every direction have been replaced with the far superior LED street lights that direct the light straight down on the pavement, but there are still lots of other dumb lighting causing glare in this county (including “street level lighting” that does nothing but increase the glare at eye level).


There are some streets in this city that could use more street lights, but let’s make sure they are properly designed LED street lights that only direct light straight down and not horizontally to glare in the eyes of drivers.


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Maybe the pedestrians could cross at the crosswalk?


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