Saturday was quite the bloodbath for pedestrians out in Fresno area streets this Saturday.
17 year old skateboarder killed in mountain community. Bee report says he “ignored” the stop sign, but stop signs do not legally apply to skateboarders, which California law considers as pedestrians (as it does for roller skates and wheelchairs). Either the Bee made a mistake, or more likely, the CHP person they spoke to failed to understand California law. As such, the motorist is considered 100% innocent, and a kid is dead, a kid who may have been in the crosswalk (impossible to tell from report).
Man in road killed on Tulare, near 11th. The report indicates a man was simply standing in the road, and while one vehicle changed lanes to avoid him, the next did not. This is an area where almost none of the street lights work, and haven’t for quite some time. While it’s entirely likely the man was drunk or high, hence his decision to stand in the middle of the road, the second vehicle was clearly following too closely if they couldn’t also change lanes. Naturally, that driver is free to go, and the city is under no obligation to provide working street lights.
Pedestrian killed in hit and run by probable drunk driver. The report mentions the vehicle was swerving between lanes, and then fled. While the Bee reports the nearest crosswalk was “several hundred feet away” pedestrians are not required to use crosswalk between streets that aren’t signalized, such as the area where he was killed. That is as relevant to the report as stating that the SUV was not using the freeway, several hundred feet away. Just another way to fault the victim I guess.
I look forward to the Fresno police announcing a crackdown on pedestrians as a result of these tragedies.