The Georgia driver of the Cobb County Transit bus involved in a pedestrian accident last week has been charged with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care.
57-year-old Jean Lewis has been formally charged in the Atlanta-area accident, which occurred eight days earlier. On the day of the crash, the victim, a 57-year-old woman was walking on the cross walk at the Hamilton E. Holmes Dr. and ML King Junior Drive intersection. According to the report, the bus driver had a green arrow to turn left. As he was turning, the victim stepped on the curb and into the cross walk. According to witnesses, the victim saw the bus making a turn, and tried to hurry up across to the other side, but was struck by the rear of the bus. She sustained serious personal injuries, including a severed leg and a broken ankle.
A new report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association reveals that pedestrian accident fatalities across the United States actually increased by .4% in the first six months of 2010. It may seem like a small increase, but it comes after years of great progress reducing pedestrian accident fatalities. Although Georgia’s pedestrian accident fatality numbers declined during the first six months of 2010, there’s more that we could be doing to keep pedestrians safer.
For instance, as an Atlanta pedestrian accident attorney, I would like to see greater enforcement of pedestrian laws, including their right-of-way. Pedestrians should be able to cross on a marked and designated cross walk, safe in the knowledge that they will make it to the other side of the road.
New Jersey is a great example of how states can use sting operations and police officer decoys to catch motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians. These states require motorists not only to yield, but also to stop for pedestrians when they see one. This has resulted in great success in reducing pedestrian accident numbers by using such measures. There could be a lesson in there for Georgia law enforcement. While the City of Atlanta and other local jurisdictions do a great job of protecting pedestrians who are crossing busy lanes of travel (all along Buford Highway, for instance), a stricter interpretation of the existing laws that requires automobiles to yield to pedestrians in cross walks would go a long way in further protecting pedestrians from serious injuries.
Robert J. Fleming has been handling wrongful death cases, dental malpractice, bus accidents, car accident cases and premises injury cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years. He practices in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area including handling lawsuits in Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Gwinnett, Cobb and other counties and nearby cities including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident and would like discuss your case, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.