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Uploaded: Friday, September 19, 2008, 11:02 AM
Woman hit by truck at Stoneridge and Hopyard
Pedestrian-auto accidents on the rise in Pleasanton streets
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by Emily West
Pleasanton Weekly Staff
| A 37-year-old Pleasanton woman was hit by a truck at Stoneridge Drive and Hopyard Road around 8 p.m. last night, according to police.
The victim is said to have sustained serious injuries to her leg and was transported to Eden Trauma Center in Castro Valley.
Reports said a 40-year-old woman was driving a Toyota Rav 4 westbound on Stoneridge Drive, when she allegedly hit the woman who was reportedly in the crosswalk. While the cause is yet to be determined, police have ruled out alcohol or drugs as a factor.
Lt. Tom Fenner said the investigation is still on going and couldn't confirm whereabouts in the crosswalk the woman was walking.
"This is another example, although the investigation is not complete, that there's something going on with pedestrians and cars," he said. "And we're not sure why."
Last week a 9-year-old bicyclist was hit on his way to school and Fenner said another bicyclist faces minor injuries from recently being hit by a vehicle. A woman run over by a car at Old Santa Rita Road and Rosewood Drive was killed July 28. There were also two collisions on First Street near downtown in the past few months.
Fenner said he thought there were a couple witnesses to Thursday night's collision, but they are encouraging any others to come forward.
While it is a major intersection, Fenner believes that Stoneridge Drive and Hoypard Road has seen few collisions in the past, considering the high volume of traffic.
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| Comments
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Posted by Stacey, a resident of the Amberwood/Wood Meadows neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2008 at 11:30 am The victim was on the sidewalk when she was hit?!
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Posted by Stephanie, a resident of another community, on Sep 19, 2008 at 12:25 pm In the sidewalk or in the crosswalk???? Hummmmm
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Posted by Emily West, Pleasanton Weekly reporter, on Sep 19, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Emily West is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com It was supposed to be crosswalk, and is fixed now.
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Posted by Kris, a resident of the Del Prado neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2008 at 1:31 pm A Toyota Rav 4 is an SUV. The larger the vehicle, the less pedestrian visibility and the more damage done to pedestrians. Want to bet the driver of the SUV was on the phone? Are you all aware that your driving is impaired while on the phone, regardless of whether it's hand held on not?
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Posted by Doo Doo, a resident of the Valley Trails neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2008 at 2:06 pm We all need to be more careful! That includes the pedestrians...not just drivers.
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Posted by Bruce, a resident of the Carlton Oaks neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2008 at 3:59 pm Cell phones, cell phones, cell phones.
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Posted by goodDriver, a resident of another community, on Sep 19, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Not sure i understand the comment about pedestrians needing to
be more careful. What does that have to do with this
poor women getting hit in a crosswalk?
So far as Valley Trails my dear Doo Doo, alot of the people living there seem have no clue what the speed limit is. An accident waiting to happen. Can't pin that one on pedestrians.
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Posted by luann, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2008 at 12:23 am People driving trucks and on the phone, excellent people-maiming and killing opportunities
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Posted by Qwerty, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2008 at 8:30 am
I wonder if the police will post any additional information on this accident. I would be interesting in knowing where the woman was when she got hit. What part of the intersection? Was she hit as she just stepped off the curb and into the crosswalk? Or was she hit closer to the other side of the intersection? (or even in the middle)
Some of the major intersections have very poor timing. Even though I am a competitive athlete and very fit, there are times I can barely make it across the intersection while walking fast. What about elderly people, those carrying bags, pushing a stroller or whatever who aren't in a position to almost break into a jog to get across the street?
Before the cellphone law came into effect, I was shocked by the number of people who were talking on the phone while going through an intersection or around the corner of one. What is so important that they can't put the phone down for 5 seconds??
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Posted by resident, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2008 at 12:20 pm Qwerty, before the cellphone law you were shocked??? What has happened since then? Surely the egotistical drivers in this town cannot be expected to give up their freedom to violate the law and use non handsfree phones now. The child in a stroller who was hit a few weeks ago at First and Neal was hit by an SUV driving woman on a regular cell phone. And she showed no remorse for having been on the phone when she hit the baby! So just how have things changed? The police could not cite her for the cell phone violation because they did not see it, only witnesses to the accident saw that. Here's your challenge Pleasanton PD -- put decoys out in the crosswalks and cite every single person who violates the crosswalk laws. Also cite every single idiot who flaunts the cellphone law. And here is the best part, print their names in the Weekly. We deserve to know who the idiots are so that we can avoid them if at all possible.
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Posted by biker, a resident of the Del Prado neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2008 at 3:17 pm It's not just the cell phone abusers, although that is definitely a huge problem with distracted drivers. I nearly was hit this week when attempting to cross on a green light, and a driver in a truck made the right turn on red at Stoneridge and Santa Rita, without ever looking right for pedestrians or bikers. He wasn't on a cell phone, but obviously would never have seen me until he crashed into me.
Please be careful folks!
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Posted by Qwerty, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Yes, shocked. I'm shocked whenever I see it happen because of how foolish and stupid it is to do that sort of thing.
On a related note, what about people who talk on a regular cellphone (i.e. not hands-free) while backing out of a parking spot? That is crazy!!!
If the police could not cite that other woman for cellphone violation because the police themselves did not see it, then that's just plan ludicrous. Even so, why couldn't they look up her phone records to show she was in the middle of a call when the accident took place?
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Posted by no phone driver, a resident of Livermore, on Sep 20, 2008 at 7:02 pm I am always shocked when the police don't cite those who blatantly use their phones and nearly run other drivers off the road let alone pedestrians. Then when pedestrians are hurt or they lose their lives their names kept out of the paper and not charged.
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Posted by Zippy Davis, a resident of the Val Vista neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2008 at 3:47 pm The city of Pleasanton needs to lower their speed limits. Do you know how fast people in this town drive? Talking on their phones in their fancy cars without a care in the world. A 45 speed limit means people drive 55. Slow down people and pay attention. As for the city, take responsibility, lower that speed limit and you may save lives and injuries.
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Posted by Qwerty, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2008 at 5:49 pm I agree that speeding is a problem. People drive way too fast on the local roads and often don't watch. How many of these people are using these streets as a way to bypass the gridlock on 580 during rush hour? I've heard it said that there are a lot of people who do that...
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Posted by Reality Check, a resident of the Amador Estates neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2008 at 11:06 pm Artificially lowering speed limits does nothing to improve safety. As a matter of fact, many studies conclude that lowering speed limits may actually be less safe and do a disservice to the public. There are many reasons for this - for more information check out these websites:
Web Link
Web Link
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Posted by Jerry, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Sep 22, 2008 at 12:05 am You could lower the speed limit to 10mph and people will still speed(Yes, I've found myself speeding at times). Without law enforcement on every street, which is impossible, speeding will occur.
While pedestrians have the right of way when crossing streets, whether they're in the crosswalk or not, if they value their life they'll be alert for vehicles. You never know. Metal cuts/crushes flesh, not the opposite.
Someone mentioned kids crossing the street without looking. With some, it seems somewhere along the line someone told them cars would stop for them and they took it as a literal fact.
Reality Check
Thanks for the Web Links. Interesting reading...
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