Jaywalking hot topic after crash

By Ryan May
Daily Forty-Niner

Jaywalking has become an issue on campus after an elderly couple was struck while crossing at a non-designated crossing area in front of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center last week.

When a jaywalker is hit, police try to retrace the steps of the pedestrian and the driver to determine guilt.

"The first thing we try to do is find where the point of impact is, try to gather witnesses to say where this person came from," said Detective Brian Watt of the Long Beach Police Department.  "We're trying to place the victim at the actual moment of the impact."

Relying heavily on witness statements, police try to view the accident through the eyes of the driver and back-step a block to look for visual obstructions that may have impeded the driver's view, Watt said.

"If a car's coming at 100 miles an hour and a guy steps out in the street ­ obviously he had some reasonable expectation that the cars that are traveling on the street are going at 35," Watt said. "But he's still partially at fault because he did step out into the street."

Although jaywalking is often referred to as a "petty offense" it is a ticketable offense, according to the World Wide Legal Information Association.

"We kind of use the common sense approach," said Sgt. Hans Kohnlein of the LBPD. "If somebody steps out and is interfering with traffic, obviously they need to be dealt with. But if this person steps out and doesn't interfere with traffic, I think we might tend to look the other way."

Watt said officers primarily work problem areas where citizens or residents will call about a certain intersection.

"Ultimately our goal is for pedestrian safety," Watt said.  "A lot of times when [pedestrians] do cut the corners and run across the street, they don't realize the danger they're putting themselves in because they may know where the cars are at, but the [drivers] may not see them."

In last week's jaywalking incident, Mary and John Halquist of East Long Beach were taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center after a 20-year old driver struck them while traveling east on Atherton Street.

Mary, 66, suffered head trauma from the accident.  She is listed as stable, but remains in the intensive care unit.  John, 73, sustained a broken ankle and ribs and was released. No further information was available.

The driver, whose name was not released, suffered no injuries and was not charged for the accident.