Pedestrian struck, killed in Anaheim; driver flees

[IsrAmeriPrius]

[Excerpts]

By DENISSE SALAZAR
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANAHEIM – An 88-year-old man was struck and killed by a vehicle as he crossed South Harbor Boulevard on Wednesday night. The driver of what witnesses described as a dark-blue Toyota Prius failed to stop, police said.

A witness said the vehicle had a high-occupancy vehicle access sticker on the rear bumper with license plate number 5WFJ786. The vehicle is believed to have extensive front-end damage and a shattered windshield, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 714-765-1861.

The Orange County Register[/b]

[Tech_Guy]

Duh???

If they know the license plate number. Can't the police figure out who owns it and where they live???

Keith

[Godiva]

Dark Blue? It would have to be a gen I. The gen II don't come in dark blue. (yet)

The 5 beginning the license plate means it's fairly recent. My rental car's license plate starts with a 5. So it's a new car that is not a Prius or a gen I that has changed hands and they've applied for a new license plate. Do the gen Is qualify for the HOV stickers? Could it have been a black Prius? Or maybe it wasn't a Prius at all. Would the Honda Civic Hybrid come in dark blue and qualify for HOV stickers?

[htmlspinnr]

Or they could have mistaken Seaside Pearl as dark blue.

My sequence was 5EXN882 when I was in CA and mine was bought in Oct '03, so it would be a newer registration than my '04.

[Earthling]

"...older adult pedestrians are much more vulnerable to serious injury or death when struck by a motor vehicle than younger pedestrians. For example, the percentage of pedestrian crashes resulting in death exceeds 20 percent for pedestrians over age 75, compared to less than 8 percent for pedestrians under age 14.3,4"

from: http://www.walkinginfo.org/pedsafe/crashstats.cfm

I walk to work almost every day.

I've had more close calls as a pedestrian than as a motorcyclist.

In the US pedestrians, as Rodney Dangerfield would say, "Don't get no respect." We have become such a car culture that a pedestrian's right to cross the street is not readily acknowledged by the average car driver. I've been flipped off and honked at for asserting my right to cross the street on a Walk signal.

The average motorist needs to lighten up, learn some manners, and acknowledge the right-of-way that pedestrians are legally entitled to.

Harry

[ohgreys]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(htmlspinnr @ Jan 26 2007, 03:27 AM) [snapback]380993[/snapback]</div>

Or they could have mistaken Seaside Pearl as dark blue. [/b]

This is true. I don't consider Seaside Pearl to be dark blue but I don't consider it to be light either. The light vs dark description is subjective.

[MegansPrius]

Perps apprehended http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/c...s-pe-california

Two people police say were involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed an 88-year-old pedestrian trying to cross an Anaheim street were arrested Thursday, authorities said.

Elaine Carol Snitzer, 24, of Orange was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run a day after Du Whang Kim was struck by a Toyota Prius that failed to stop at the scene, Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez said.

Kim, of Santa Ana, was hit about 9 p.m. Wednesday in the 2100 block of South Harbor Boulevard. He died at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Witnesses gave the car's description and license to police, who found the car with front end damage parked in a neighborhood in Orange, authorities said.

Andrew Zaballero, 23, of Orange was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime, police said.

[qbee42]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Jan 26 2007, 08:11 AM) [snapback]381030[/snapback]</div>

The average motorist needs to lighten up, learn some manners, and acknowledge the right-of-way that pedestrians are legally entitled to.
[/b]

And it would be nice if our intersections and parking lots were more pedestrian friendly. We have two shopping malls located directly across the street from each other, but god help you if you try to walk between them. There are no sidewalks, so you kind of balance on the curb, and then the only crosswalk is at a monster intersection. "Push to cross" buttons are conveniently located at both sides of the crosswalk, but they don't do anything. Obviously we are all supposed to drive.

Tom

[toyotablackbox]

This is obviously a terrible tragedy, but I can't immediately blame the driver. It was a very traumatic event and some people deal with these events differently (flee in shock). Also, the 88 year old pedestrian may have been making an illegal j-walk, or crossing when the don't walk sign was displayed. In the early evening time when this accident occurred visibility is difficult, especially in the Prius which lacks upper shading on the windshield. The Prius also emits very low levels of noise pollution and the pedestrian may have had bad vision and was just listening for traffic. The other day on the way home from work, an elderly woman was driving along on her cell phone at about 5mph on a busy 45mph road. She rolled to a stop, but when she saw me sitting patiently behind her, she gassed her buick trying to move to the side of the road, but ended up down the ravine on a walking path. She was okay, but still talking on her cell phone. I think there needs to be more care and respect shown for our elderly by not allowing them to drive when it becomes too dangerous for them. I wonder if this 88 year old pedestrian could have been saved if he was being assisted home by a younger relative.

[mrbogie]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(toyotablackbox @ Jan 26 2007, 10:43 AM) [snapback]381137[/snapback]</div>

This is obviously a terrible tragedy, but I can't immediately blame the driver. It was a very traumatic event and some people deal with these events differently (flee in shock). Also, the 88 year old pedestrian may have been making an illegal j-walk, or crossing when the don't walk sign was displayed. In the early evening time when this accident occurred visibility is difficult, especially in the Prius which lacks upper shading on the windshield. The Prius also emits very low levels of noise pollution and the pedestrian may have had bad vision and was just listening for traffic. The other day on the way home from work, an elderly woman was driving along on her cell phone at about 5mph on a busy 45mph road. She rolled to a stop, but when she saw me sitting patiently behind her, she gassed her buick trying to move to the side of the road, but ended up down the ravine on a walking path. She was okay, but still talking on her cell phone. I think there needs to be more care and respect shown for our elderly by not allowing them to drive when it becomes too dangerous for them. I wonder if this 88 year old pedestrian could have been saved if he was being assisted home by a younger relative.
[/b]

Come on, there can be no excuse for leaving the scene. And I don't care how old a person is, with a phone stuck in one's ear anyone is susceptible in making a dumb mistake.