Pedestrian hit at Comet Square; driver “cited with a violation”

On Monday evening, a car running a yellow light hit a pedestrian at the corner of Connecticut and Nebraska. Lt. Erich Miller of the Second District reports,

Accident with pedestrian struck. This incident occurred at Connecticut Ave and Nebraska Ave. NW [Monday] evening at approximately 7 p.m. A female was struck by a vehicle running through a yellow light. The driver has been cited with a violation. The pedestrian was taken to the Washington Hospital Center and is in stable condition. The pedestrian suffered a fractured pelvis and lacerations to the forehead. Please use caution when crossing streets.

Please use caution when crossing streets, yes. But also, how about please use caution to not hit pedestrians? How about appealing to drivers not to run yellow lights? The 30 seconds you might save is not worth sending someone to the hospital.

I’m trying to find out more about what exactly happened. As one neighbor wrote on the Chevy Chase email list, “was the pedestrian who was hit crossing against the right of way or did this involve a late turn? More facts would be very helpful.” If a driver is breaking the law by running a yellow light and hits a pedestrian, the police should seriously investigate whether the driver should face charges more serious than simply a ticket for running a light.

Update: more details here.