A 13-year-old girl was injured in a San Francisco area car accident after she was hit by a vehicle while walking in a marked crosswalk. According to a news report in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the injury collision occurred the morning of September 21, 2011 in a West College Avenue crosswalk. Officials say a transit bus stopped to allow the girl to pass through the crosswalk, but a second car entered the crosswalk, knocking her down. The crosswalk, known as the Link Lane crosswalk is at a busy T-intersection, near North Dutton Avenue. The same crosswalk was the location of a fatal pedestrian accident where a Santa Rosa High School sophomore was struck and killed last year.

My heart goes out to the teenager who thankfully escaped without serious injuries. I wish her the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol's 2009 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were four fatalities and 51 injuries involving pedestrian accidents in Santa Rosa. In Sonoma County as a whole, eight people died and 125 were injured as a result of pedestrian accidents, during the same year.

Dangerous Crosswalk

Based on this news report, the driver of the second car failed to stop and yield the right-of-way to the girl in the crosswalk. According to California Vehicle Code Section 21950: "The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection."

Additionally, the article states that this is a dangerous crosswalk, which has been the site of several pedestrian accidents. City officials have said they will install a three-way signal light at the intersection by next summer. But right now, the crosswalk has nothing more than a fluorescent green pedestrian sign and pavement striping to indicate a pedestrian crossing. There is no question in my mind that the city should make crosswalk safety improvements at this location a top priority. How many more people must be injured or killed at this location before something is done?

Protecting Victims' Rights

Injured pedestrian accident victims or their families would be well-advised to contact an experienced San Francisco personal injury lawyer, who has a successful track record of holding governmental agencies accountable for dangerous roadways. Under California Government Code Section 911.2, any personal injury or wrongful death claim against a governmental agency must be filed within 180 days of the incident.