Pedestrian hospitalized after being struck by vehicle in Ann Arbor
One woman was hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after being hit by a car at the intersection of State and Huron streets in Ann Arbor.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said one person was transported to the University of Michigan Hospital in unstable condition at 2 p.m. Tuesday after being struck by a vehicle.
Ann Arbor police Sgt. Paul Curtis said the woman was walking across Huron Street when she was struck by a woman driver. The woman was turning her vehicle from southbound State Street onto westbound Huron Street, Curtis said.
The woman walking across the street was in the crosswalk when she was hit and had the right of way, Curtis said. The driver was cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian.
The pedestrian is being treated at the hospital for non-life threatening injuries, Curtis said.
The Ann Arbor Fire Department also responded to the scene, police said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
rutrow
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 5:14 p.m.
A--this pedestrian ordinance is stupid. It is always unwise to assign right-of-way to pedestrians. B--Regardless of the amount of sense this ordinance makes, if you can't drive in such a manner that you avoid hitting people, perhaps your driving privileges ought to come under review.
David Paris
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 11:33 p.m.
rutrow... Hmm... I'm pretty sure that since a motorist is in control of (or not) a lethal machine, that peds have always had the right of way.
Hmm
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
People drive like real idiots around here.
UpperDecker
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 3:26 p.m.
People drive like real jerks around here.
LXIX
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 9:54 a.m.
@a2citizen Regarding the legality of making U-turns and then 270 degree left turns in Michigan depends upon local ordinance. Presumably if a driver can "safely" make a U-turn at an intersection then a 270 turn might not be illegal. It depends upon the direction signs if any at the intersection and local ordinance. In Ann Arbor the intersection should have a "No U-turn" sign or "Left Only" or similar "direction sign" restricting intersection free-style maneuvers. Could find no Ann Arbor U-turn (or 270 degree turn) ordinance. Whatever is done must be done "safely". From the State Police site Q&A "Are U-turns legal in Michigan ? Under state law and in the absence of a traffic control device prohibiting same, the maneuver may be completed as long as it can be done in safety, is not careless or reckless, and gives way to other traffic that have the right-of-way. This is outside of a city, village, or township that has adopted the Uniform Traffic Code. Within the boundaries of any city, village, or township, that has adopted the Uniform Traffic Code, rule 434 states... "R 28.1434 Rule 434. Limitations on turning around; violation as civil infraction. (1) The driver of any vehicle shall not turn the vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction on any street in a business district and shall not, on any other street, so turn a vehicle unless the movement can be made in safety and without interfering with other traffic. (2) A person who violates this rule is responsible for a civil infraction." Under the UTC the requirement of whether or not there must be a sign posted prohibiting u-turns is debatable. Some say yes and some say no. The final determination will be up to the individual court. "
a2citizen
Fri, Mar 15, 2013 : 2:44 a.m.
"(a) If the signal exhibits a green indication, vehicular traffic facing the signal may proceed STRAIGHT THROUGH OR TURN RIGHT OR LEFT unless a sign at that place prohibits either turn. Vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left,SHALL YIELD the right-of-way to other vehicles and TO PEDESTRIANS and bicyclists lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk at the time the signal is exhibited. You can go through it, you can turn right, you can turn left. You cannot make a u-turn at an intersection with a traffic signal. You cannot make a 270 degree turn. Turning a vehicle without hitting a pedestrian is not as complicated as some people are making it out to be.
Eric
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 5:30 a.m.
Hi Kyle, Thank you for writing about this incident and raising awareness about the issue. I was struck by a vehicle that was turning and failed to yield to a pedestrian in October. There were several witnesses who saw that I had the right of way. I was in the ER overnight and suffered a minor spine injury that prevented me from activity for several weeks, bleeding to my head, and several other injuries. The driver was just careless. I actually emailed her to just understand what happened, but she never even had the courtesy to email be back, to check if I was doing alright, or apologize. She's a cheerleader on the basketball team so it boils my blood when I happen to see her while watching basketball games. I hope the pedestrian recovers quickly. There are probably a sizeable number of other pedestrians who have been struck in Ann Arbor - I think it's an issue that's not addressed enough in this town.
Hazel411
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 4:14 a.m.
Coincidence or to be expected with Daylight Savings Time? Weren't both Ann Arbor pedestrian fatalities in the fall within a week of the time change? Hope for a speedy recovery for the pedestrian.
UpperDecker
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 3:24 p.m.
huh?
anti-thug
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 2:11 a.m.
i hope she will be ok.
racerx
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 1:47 a.m.
When did the fire dept respond? After the fact? Before? Did they offer any assistance? Did the fire dept staff administered aid to the victim? Or did they just get the chance to fire (no pun intended) up the truck, put their gear on, pump out their chest and stand around as usual?
lefty48197
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:35 a.m.
Why doesn't the U build pedestrian crosswalks for their tuition payers? State and South U would be a great place to start.
kejamder
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 3:27 a.m.
You mean, on top of the 3 crosswalks that already exist there? On streets that the University does not own?
jcj
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 11:03 p.m.
Amazing how many sleuths we have right here in our mitst.
Scott Reed
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 9:15 p.m.
This section of Huron is pedestrian-hostile, and needs to be fixed. We should narrow to two or three lanes, especially in the critical downtown section. There should be more crosswalks and perhaps stop signs in this section of Huron to force drivers to slow down and pay attention to pedestrians. Ignorant and dangerous drivers need to be put in their place in this town.
Frustrated in A2
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 2:50 a.m.
I totally agree, cars should totally be banned from downtown! Prohibit them and truck and buses in the area bordered by Huron/Washtenaw/Hill/Main St. Everybody will walk and delivery trucks park out side of there and use mules to carry their loads in.
Michael
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 4:08 a.m.
I definitely agree. In crowded downtowns such as Ann Arbor's, roadway speeds should be reduced and there should be traffic lights at every intersection. Further, lane reductions and other measures such as pedestrian islands definitely help. Sure, it may be under the jurisdiction of MDOT, but the city of AA can always make recommendations to them when it comes to upgrades/improvements.
kejamder
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 3:20 a.m.
"We" don't have the power to do that. It's an MDOT state road
ypsicat
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 10:21 p.m.
I work in an office on E. Huron a few blocks west of here and hardly a week goes by where a pedestrian doesn't at least have a very close call while legally in the crosswalk. I've had a few myself.
Are you serious?
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 9:55 p.m.
I think that is a bit of an over reaction. This is the first instance of a pedestrian being hit in that area that I remember in many years. The thing that always amazes me is how many pedestrians just step into the crosswalk without even looking to see if there are any inattentive drivers coming from any direction.
Billy
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 9:06 p.m.
"Ann Arbor police Sgt. Paul Curtis said the woman was walking across Huron Street when she was struck by a woman driver. " I'm hardly EVER one to nitpick about things like this.....but isn't that just plain bad form to say "woman driver" instead of just "driver?"
rutrow
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 5:20 p.m.
Yeah. It's like the guy who tells me that "the Arab guy at the gas station told me I had turned at the wrong street" Like that has one minutia of significance! Dumb!
Phew!
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 3:51 p.m.
@Dhurandar It would've caught my and others' attention if a "male driver" had been noted. Several weeks ago the author of an AnnArbor.com article referenced a "male police officer" and people noticed and were annoyed. (The fact that the officer was male had no bearing on the content of the article.)
Hmm
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 2:48 p.m.
It's completely relevant to the topic of this story
widmer
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:38 a.m.
I don't see how you can guess not. Of course it would have. I'm a dude but that doesn't prevent me from recognizing sexism.
Dhurandar Bhatavdekar
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:01 a.m.
would it have caught your attention the way it did if the article said "male driver"? i guess not ...
widmer
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 11:35 p.m.
lol indeed it is bad form. It is not any different than if they had written "struck by a black driver" or "struck by a jewish driver". AA should really get rid of this singular defining characteristic as it is used.
ypsicat
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 10:16 p.m.
That kinda jumped out at me too, Billy.
eagleman
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 9:50 p.m.
I thought that was odd too.
Perry White
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 8:16 p.m.
I thought it was annarbor.com policy to indicate how a story has been updated, and not just in the comment section.
LXIX
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:55 p.m.
That intersection and the crosswalk just East near Rackham are frequently used by pedestrians. Glad it was not worse for the injured woman. Dumping the CIty crosswalk ordinance would not have made any difference here but would certainly make the mid-block crosswalk safer. And it is possible to head West on Huron after turning left from Southbound State (State heading South across Huron). A 270 degree left turn at the intersection is possible. U turns within an intersection used to be legal. Not sure about the 270 degree U turns though.
a2citizen
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 8:51 p.m.
U turns at intersections with traffic signals have been illegal since at least the 70's.
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:42 p.m.
For those saying it's impossible to turn left from southbound State to westbound Huron: You're right. I'm not sure if I misheard or the sergeant misspoke, but I've taken out the reference to turning left. The woman was turning from southbound State to westbound Huron.
DBH
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:47 p.m.
Then she'd have to be turning right, in which case I cannot think of why the pedestrian would not have been in the motorist's line of sight easily enough (vs. the possible scenario envisioned by Atticus F., above).
DBH
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:42 p.m.
I am guessing Mr. Feldscher meant South State St., not southbound State St.
regularjoe
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.
"The woman was turning her vehicle left from southbound State Street onto westbound Huron Street: I believe that is technically impossible.
Andrea Zastrow
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 1:02 p.m.
The other left?
Gorc
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:36 p.m.
Maybe the city should consider building a roundabout at that intersection.
ArthGuinness
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:56 a.m.
It's a 270-degree left. No problem at all.
chipper
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:26 p.m.
How do you turn left from southbound State onto westbound Huron? It's impossible.
DBH
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 8:40 p.m.
@s2budd, see Mr. Feldscher's comment below at 3:42 PM. The story initially said the motorist was turning left, but he subsequently removed that from the story. It would have been helpful if the edit had been mentioned at the beginning of the story, rather than in a comment.
s2budd
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 8:32 p.m.
It says nothing about turning left. "From southbound state street" dictates location not direction of travel.
mikeh
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 8:21 p.m.
That would be a right turn my friend.
Nicholas Urfe
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:26 p.m.
From the article: "The woman walking across the street was in the crosswalk when she was hit and had the right of way, Curtis said. The driver was cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian."
John Hritz
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 7:58 p.m.
Now if all of our police blotter entries could be so succinct. A vast improvement over investigation on-going.
EyeHeartA2
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:57 a.m.
From the article: "The Ann Arbor Fire Department also responded to the scene, police said."
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:09 p.m.
There will be more information coming on this incident shortly. Stay tuned.
bamboozled
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 6:28 p.m.
I have certainly seen patients reported in "stable" condition, but never "unstable". Seems pretty darn subjective!
ArthGuinness
Wed, Mar 13, 2013 : 12:55 a.m.
Joslyn - clearly you missed the part of the article which said the pedestrian had the right of way.
widmer
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 11:30 p.m.
Joslyn at the U lol what does that even mean?
Joslyn at the U
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 7:25 p.m.
I think getting hit by a car is bad but the fact is a lotta folks walk around campus like they have bumpers strapped to they're butts
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 : 6:42 p.m.
bamboozled: HVA uses a little bit different terminology than the typical hospital does. A patient is either stable or unstable in their parlance. Obviously, this person suffered serious injuries and needed to get to the hospital right away.