Pedestrian Struck by Vehicle on Broad Street in Rome, Georgia

ROME, GA- Mdjonline.com writes that a woman suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident on Broad Street in Rome earlier this week. The driver was traveling on Broad Street approaching Second Avenue when he struck the victim while she was attempting to cross the road in a crosswalk. The driver stated that he failed to see the woman in the roadway and argued that she did not have a walk sign at the time of the accident.*

A passenger traveling in the driver’s vehicle said that he saw the victim and told the driver three times that he needed to stop. A witness to the incident stated that the walk sign was still white when the victim was in the crosswalk. Police have cited the driver for a failure to yield to a pedestrian.

Georgia traffic law gives pedestrians the right of way when they are within a crosswalk, stating that the driver "shall stop and remain stopped" as long as the pedestrian is in their half of the road or within one lane of the half of the road on which the driver is traveling. 

Drivers also are required to use caution around pedestrians outside of a crosswalk. While drivers may be able to fight charges for striking a pedestrian under some circumstances, drivers generally have a duty to be cautious around pedestrians and to make every attempt to avoid hitting a person, even if they enter the road outside of a marked crosswalk or in an entirely unsafe place and manner.

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Source:https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/news/state/woman-hit-on-broad-street-tuesday-night/article_ec0e0cc6-ebb4-5485-91ca-214ce5d07660.html