Tag: hit and run

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Cyclist captures hit-and-run on camera

On By jamesinclair

A teenager with a camera mounted on his handlebar caught a truck driver slamming into him. The truck was accelerating – rather than slowing down – to make a right turn at the upcoming light.The truck driver then fled the scene. Will Fresno PD act?

A TV station has the story, and apparently because they have the exclusive on the video, they have the “exclusive” on the news – I didn’t see any reporting in the Bee. 

The TV station is calling it an “accident” and running with the “both sides are to blame” angle. Why are both sides to blame? Because the wife of the driver says so. Click to read more!

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An exercise in blaming the victim

On By jamesinclair

I perked up last month when I saw that the Fresno Bee had devoted an entire article to the epidemic of vehicle violence. I had recently noted that the Bee is littered with stories about deaths, injuries and tragedy on our streets ever day, and was excited about something that may contain an actual investigation, and not just a retyping of the police logs.

The article that actually took a look into the epidemic is called  Pedestrian deaths a tragic trend in Fresno.

Unlike last months excellent LA Weekly piece on the extraordinary amount of hit and runs in Los Angeles, and the completely ineffective work by police departments to stop this, the Fresno Bee story took a different angle: how to blame the pedestrian. Click to read more!

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Three pedestrians killed in one Fresno day

On By jamesinclair

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). Click to read more!

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20 year old arrested for hit-and-run killing of pedestrian

On By jamesinclair

I recently posted a news story about how a pedestrian in a wheelchair was killed in Fresno after being hit by not one, but two cars who fled the seen. Fortunately, because it was a busy time, there were sufficient witnesses.

I lamented that stories like that rarely get a follow up…there are dozens of pedestrian deaths every year and Fresno, and most get less news coverage than a house fire (with no injuries or deaths). I’ve yet to see an article along the lines of “12 hit and run murderers still at large.”

This time, Fresno PD and the Bee have followed up with this short article letting us readers know what has progressed in the case. Click to read more!

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Wouldn’t it be nice if media followed up on hit and runs?

On By jamesinclair

It’s sad to say it, but I feel like a read a story very similar to the following every couple of weeks.

A man in a wheelchair was killed after he was struck by two vehicles while crossing Blackstone Avenue in his wheelchair Saturday evening, Fresno police Lt. Anthony Martinez said.

The man was crossing the street when he was struck by one vehicle that witnesses described as a compact car, Martinez said.

He was thrown from his wheelchair and was hit a second time by another vehicle that witnesses described as a tan-colored SUV, possibly a Chevy Tahoe.

Both drivers left the scene, Martinez said. Click to read more!