It took the death last year of a Santa Rosa teen in a West College Avenue crosswalk to prompt movement toward a new signal light at the intersection where she was struck, according to an article today in The Press Democrat.
The initial investigation indicates the driver was not speeding, on the phone, or driving under the influence and there are no grounds for criminal charges, police Sgt. Lance Badger said. But the accident bears a frightening resemblance to the incident just more than one year earlier in which another teen was fatally struck at nearly the same spot, at virtually the same time of day.
City officials said the need for a signal light is clear, and they intend to find funding to pay the estimated $350,000 price tag.
As a San Francisco Pedestrian Accident Lawyer I know that sometimes the roadway is a major player in accidents. A careful lawyer always looks to see if the condition of the roadway was a substantial factor in causing an injury, both to help explain why our client has been harmed and also to help point out those dangerous roadways to the responsible public entities.
For each accident there are several factors involved and one of those is always the physical configuration of the roadway itself. The road is the scene of the crash and the scene is as much a part of the whole picture as the drivers and the vehicles and the pedestrians involved. A dangerous roadway makes driving safely all the more difficult. Often, with unforgiving roadways, a small driver error can end up with catastrophic consequences.
