its settled, but i'm not

[rasczak]

[rant] I don't understand how this kind of thing happens but it did.

One Dec. morning 2009, I was involved in an accident. I hit a pedestrian jaywalking when I had the green at 530am. It was fairly dark but had my headlights on, couldn't see him because he was wearing dark clothing. I was going roughly 40 - 45 mph (45 is the speed limit for this street) and as I passed though the stoplight, BOOM! it was like a scene out of Hollywood. I barely saw a silhouette of a person cross in front of my car, I hit the brakes but it was too late. A body comes crashing through my window. Blood splatters everywhere. I wish I never saw this. Roll forward three months later; I get a call from my adjuster. The case was settled. I was shown as not having been at fault, but the case was settled. Settled? Unreal. At last I had heard, the request for damages was in the mid 500,000's. I had a witness that vouched for me that the injured party ran across on a red light jaywalking to the median. The scene of the accident absolutely reflected that fact. It’s ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong, I felt bad for the guy. When I got out of my car to check up on him, I thought he was dead at first. Then for the first month or two he was in a coma. I worried for him. I’m glad he's better now. I just don't get how, he's able to reach a settlement for an accident he caused, while I sit here reliving that moment in my head many times during the course of the day. Everyday I drive to work; I fear another person is going to jump out in front of my car. I can't feel comfortable driving anymore. This sucks. I wish this never happened. I wish I could get those images out of my head. [/rant]

Please, take a moment and use the crosswalk. Take the time to wait at the stoplight until its green. Not only do you save your life, but you spare the person who might hit you from their own pain.

Sorry for the rant. I needed to let it out.

 

[I Saw OJ]

You should sue him for the pain and suffering he has caused you.

 

[zoiks]

You need time man to get over this. At least you should be glad that the pedestrian is not dead.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

You should sue him for the pain and suffering he has caused you.

this.

 

[brblx]

You should sue him for the pain and suffering he has caused you.

fucking seriously. i'd find an ambulance chaser and sue the prick for mental anguish- and he won't have insurance to cover himself.

people who do this shit piss me the hell off. i almost mowed down some guy on a bike a few weeks ago who was riding at night, in all black, with no reflectors on his bike...in the middle of the road. i haven't had as a close a call with a pedestrian, but you get the same dumb fucks walking down the road (literally the road, not the shoulder) wearing their fucking dark hoodies and saggy pants. i've considered ramming into a couple of them just on principle.

 

[Epic Fail]

So do you have to pay out of pocket because 500k is way above the minimum liability.

 

[HannibalX]

Sounds terrible.

Around here people don't cross at the lights, they just stroll across the road at a snail's pace... never mind that there are six lanes of traffic going 45-55 mph.

I find it's worse near bus stops with people making transfers. They get off on one side of the road and need to get to the opposite side to catch their transfer. Rather than walk 20 yards up to the light and then cross they just cross immediately like that extra small distance is going to kill them...

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The nerve of that ass wipe getting run over by your car.

 

[chibichanman]

where are you located? from what it seems like, might not be CA.

 

[Pegun]

The nerve of that ass wipe getting run over by your car.

The nerve of the idiot to brave a jaywalk in the dark in dark colored clothing. I had a guy try this i broad daylight the other day on a major highway.

 

[rasczak]

The nerve of that ass wipe getting run over by your car.

did you really read the OP? I was doing everything CORRECTLY, driving speed limit, going on the green, headlights on. He's the one who decided he needed to cross the street badly enough that he would jaywalk while the light was red for him. He was NOWHERE near the crosswalk. Had he been in the crosswalk and I ran the red, then I would've assumed responsibility and paid my dues. The accident report, the witness, the police at the scene, had me pegged as having done absolutely nothing wrong. NOTHING.

I'm in CA.

Last thing i want to do is go suing the guy. I don;t feel the need to do that. I'm just pissed that the whole things happened at all. I pretty much want my life back before this happened. I want to be able to sleep a whole night without thinking that this could have been my wife or either of my kids. I want to stop seeing the dudes hit my windshield. Too bad they don't have a device for erasing certain parts of the memory.

 

[Zedtom]

I feel for the OP and his emotions. I learned a new respect for pedestrians when I started walking my dog. The same for bicyclists when I ride.

It seems that when you're behind the wheel of your car these individuals who might be jaywalking in the middle of the block are interfering with your right to blast down the street. I have to alter my attitude when I drive because I have had many close calls when I was the pedestrian.

I still must admit that I really can't stand joggers who think they can run down the middle of the street simply because they have athletic apparel on.

 

[Skitzer]

Don't understand why you would have a problem with the guy collecting money for what he went through. 1-2 months in a coma??? Seriously.
Don't know all the facts but I'm thinking you should have seen him.
If it was that dark you should have slowed down.
You were driving faster than your field of sight and that is not a good thing to do.

 

[Genx87]

Insurance covers people who are at fault as well. With mid 500K for a settlement. It sounds like all he got was his medical reimbursed.

 

[rasczak]

Don't understand why you would have a problem with the guy collecting money for what he went through. 1-2 months in a coma??? Seriously.

Don't know all the facts but I'm thinking you should have seen him.
If it was that dark you should have slowed down.
You were driving faster than your field of sight and that is not a good thing to do.

You know, you are right in that regard I guess. Can I not be angry for having been put in this position due to his ignorance? That's where my main beef lies. Had he just taken his time, and properly used the crosswalk, waited for the red light, none of this would even be a concern. I am just angry. It just feel like there's no recourse for me other than wait it out and hope the images go away.

 

[HannibalX]

I feel for the OP and his emotions. I learned a new respect for pedestrians when I started walking my dog. The same for bicyclists when I ride.

It seems that when you're behind the wheel of your car these individuals who might be jaywalking in the middle of the block are interfering with your right to blast down the street. I have to alter my attitude when I drive because I have had many close calls when I was the pedestrian.

I still must admit that I really can't stand joggers who think they can run down the middle of the street simply because they have athletic apparel on.

What? No, I don't think most people in general have this attitude. It's more like, you, as the driver, become angry/annoyed because a selfish person puts you in danger and themselves in danger because they are too lazy to use the crosswalk and wait for the light. It has nothing to do with "blasting down the road" and everything to do with trying to avoid deadly accidents.

 

[dighn]

Don't understand why you would have a problem with the guy collecting money for what he went through. 1-2 months in a coma??? Seriously.
Don't know all the facts but I'm thinking you should have seen him.
If it was that dark you should have slowed down.
You were driving faster than your field of sight and that is not a good thing to do.

if you are jaywalking and relying on the driver to see you and slow down to avoid being hit, then you are doing it very very wrong. I don't see how the op can be blamed in any way.

 

[Crusty]

Don't understand why you would have a problem with the guy collecting money for what he went through. 1-2 months in a coma??? Seriously.
Don't know all the facts but I'm thinking you should have seen him.
If it was that dark you should have slowed down.
You were driving faster than your field of sight and that is not a good thing to do.

/taps sarcasm meter

 

[CycloWizard]

I've had people turn, look at my car as I am driving down the road, then step off the curb in front of me, forcing me to slam on my brakes to avoid nailing them. Especially at the Whole Foods near my house. If it weren't for my wife, I would have welded a cow-catcher on the front of my car by now to prevent damage to my hood, then just drive normally. If I have the right of way, get the hell out of my way. If you can't follow the rules of the road, then you are too stupid to live.

 

[JEDIYoda]

The nerve of that ass wipe getting run over by your car.

The nerve of you to make fun of the OP....
What was the OP to do? Crawl along at 5 mph just because some idiot might come out from among parked cars and jaywalk???

 

[Modular]

Don't understand why you would have a problem with the guy collecting money for what he went through. 1-2 months in a coma??? Seriously.
Don't know all the facts but I'm thinking you should have seen him.
If it was that dark you should have slowed down.
You were driving faster than your field of sight and that is not a good thing to do.

This can't be for real. There is no need to look for a pedestrian outside of a crosswalk. And even then, if they are in the crosswalk while you are on a green, they are 100% at fault. Crossing on a red while moving bipedally is no different than doing so in your car.

OP, I'm sorry that this happened. Did you ever think that maybe this guy was trying to kill himself? It sounds like that may have been the case and would also give you just cause to sue him, no?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The nerve of you to make fun of the OP....
What was the OP to do? Crawl along at 5 mph just because some idiot might come out from among parked cars and jaywalk???

5mph is extreme.

Look ahead, slow down, proceed cautiously when people or animals are near the road. Not hard to do. Haven't ran anyone over yet.

 

[Brainonska511]

5mph is extreme.

Look ahead, slow down, proceed cautiously when people or animals are near the road. Not hard to do. Haven't ran anyone over yet.

Dude! The guy was wearing dark clothing, jaywalking against the light, and not at a crosswalk. The jaywalker was completely at fault.

 

[TheNinja]

Unfortunately you'll just have to hope that time heals your mental state. If you really have trouble getting over it, you could talk to a professional. I think everyone wants to sue everyone else now days for things that just happen. They are called accidents and dumb stuff can happen in the blink of an eye. If everyone in this country wasn't so damn sue happy, trying to get free money from everyone else, we'd be better off. I do hope you can get over it though...that's sounds pretty crazy!

 

[Skitzer]

This can't be for real. There is no need to look for a pedestrian outside of a crosswalk. And even then, if they are in the crosswalk while you are on a green, they are 100% at fault.

No need to look for pedestrians??? Dude where do you live? Just wanna know so I don't move there. Would hate to be a casualty of your stupidity!