Davis Law Group, P.S.

Seattle's Crosswalk/Pedestrian Accident Problem l Personal Injury Attorney

I’ve posted a lot about pedestrian accidents over the past several weeks.  It seems as if we hear about a pedestrian death almost every week.  The Seattle PI just reported on another case where an elderly woman was run over by a motorist while walking half-way through a cross-walk.  The woman, 94-year-old Ruby Blood, had made it half way across the street when the traffic light turned green.  The motorist proceeded through the cross-walk and killed Ms. Blood.  The death was likely instantaneous.

Is the motorist legally responsible?  Probably.  A specific law – RCW 46.61.235 – requires a motorist approaching a cross walk to stop or remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross in a marked cross walk.  This means that even though the light turned green for the motorist, she still had the legal duty to stop or avoid hitting pedestrians who were already in the cross walk.  Nonetheless, there may be some argument by the motorist’s insurance carrier that Ms. Blood shares some blame.  I can almost guarantee that the insurance company will argue that Ms. Blood was at least partially at fault for not avoiding the vehicle or crossing too slowly. 

The incident needs to be investigated carefully and promptly.  Witnesses need to be interviewed.  Photographs should be taken.  The police officers involved should also be interviewed.  My heart goes out to Ms. Blood’s family.