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Post by kevinspradlin on Apr 29, 2009 4:55:55 GMT -5
This is one of my favorite places to run in Frederick County. a very nice 5.2-mile loop around the university. On this particular road, though, there's no shoulder but usually very little traffic (relative, of course, depending on what you call lots of traffic). your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=62682EMMITSBURG, MD - A student at Mount Saint Mary's University who was jogging in the Emmitsburg area when she was was struck and killed by a car, according to police. It happened around 3:30 p.m. near the school in the 16000 block of Old Emmitsburg Road. She was a senior and an education major at Mount Saint Mary's University. Police say she was jogging along the road and a pick-up truck struck her head on. She was pronounced dead on the scene, apparently from a severe head injury. Officials say the driver of the truck stayed on the scene and is cooperating with police in the investigation. He has not been arrested, and it's not clear if he will face any charges in the incident. According to police, she is from the Pittsburgh area. Officials have notified her parents. Students and staff set up a memorial on campus in her memory Tuesday evening. Read the rest of the report - your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=62682 |
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Post by kevinspradlin on Apr 29, 2009 4:59:11 GMT -5
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Post by kevinspradlin on Apr 29, 2009 12:32:54 GMT -5
www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=221968&format=htmlUpdate - driver not charged with anything because police said runner was in traffic lane. I understand that the runners was in traffic but the weather was clear, no rain or anything else to obstruct the driver's view and runners have been running this loop for longer than I've been alive. I don't understand why a motorist would not be held responsible for hitting someone or some thing in the roadway. It's not like it was a knee-jerk, bang-bang situation here. We're talking about a runner who was going at a probable maximum speed of 10-12 miles per hour. Count that with a motorist (presumably obeying) on a road with a 35 mph limit (I believe that, also might be 30 or 25). Runners take a risk every time they step out for a run; why should it be made harder for people to be outdoors and be healthy by refusing to hold responsible someone who could have prevented the incident?
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Post by Justin on Apr 29, 2009 15:22:44 GMT -5
This is a tragedy and makes me very sad to think about. Without knowing many details about this incident I'm not sure I'm ready to judge the driver as a criminal in this situation. From what has been written the driver has not broken any law, he was just driving within the law at the time of this horrible incident. He even remained on the scene and tried to help from some accounts. I'd guess the driver is definitely feeling responsible for this in many ways and don't really see any counts to charge against him.
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Post by kevinspradlin on Apr 30, 2009 6:18:56 GMT -5
As a motorist, I feel it's my responsibility to drive defensively and safely. It's not like a little boy's bouncy ball darted into traffic and the boy followed, suddenly and without warning or without giving the driver time to react.
The runner was on the road. True. But it's been happening for years. The driver was a local, so he probably knew that, too. I'm not saying the driver should be criminally charged with something like involuntary manslaughter ... but why not "failure to maintain control of vehicle to avoid collision" or something. I made that charge up - in all likelihood doesn't exist.
I'm not calling the driver a criminal; but by golly, I'm not calling the runner one, either. The runner (and family) sure as he** suffered here and was forced to take a degree of responsibility. So, too, should the driver.
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Post by frojoe23 on Apr 30, 2009 7:45:10 GMT -5
It is hard for me to come up with a conclusion on this one as to whose fault it is. Many times as runners, I think that we feel we own the road. This is especially true for me, as I get frustrated if I'm a little off of the shoulder and people are too tame to go around. They really are looking out for my safety.
I don't know if this was the same case. It sounded more like a game of chicken where both the runner and the driver are thinking "oh, they'll move first", but neither one of them did. He may not have been able to move over due to oncoming traffic the other way. I don't know - it is a tough one and both parties involved are hurting over this I'm sure.
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Post by Justin on Apr 30, 2009 8:29:33 GMT -5
I agree that this is a tragedy. My opinion is the driver most likely is taking responsibility, being in a accident which takes a life would be a tough burden to live with I would think.
The thing is, accidents happen without people being criminally responsible, so if he's not charged with anything that doesn't exactly mean the victim is responsible.
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Post by 44Hawk on Apr 30, 2009 8:32:07 GMT -5
yesterday I ran 5 miles in memory of this runner, I would like to hear others do the same for one of our fallen runner's. This could happen to anyone of us. God bless and safe running.
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Post by kevinspradlin on Jun 5, 2009 6:13:55 GMT -5
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