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A 75-year-old woman was hit near the Creswell 76 gas station last Tuesday at about 8 a.m. after attempting to cross the street, police report.
A middle-aged woman reportedly did not see the elderly woman as she entered the crosswalk on South Mill Street and Oregon Avenue. The light was green and the walk signal was displayed, Lane County Sheriff’s Office’s Sergeant Scott Denham said. Denham said the persons involved were local, but could not provide more specific information.
”The driver actually got mostly stopped when she saw her, and the elderly woman put her hands up,” Denham said. ”The vehicle hit her hands and knocked her backwards, causing the victim to fall and hit her head on the ground.”
Sergeant Scott Denham said the victim suffered an injury to the back of her head and was transported by South Lane County Fire & Rescue EMS to a local hospital, where she was kept overnight for observation, but is otherwise okay.
”It was just a case of not paying attention to the walk signal and crosswalk,” Denham said.
The driver received a citation, Denham said.
While there have not been many accidents involving pedestrians in that particular intersection, Denham said there have been several close calls, near misses and reckless driver reports in that area.
”Historically, we have not had any more pedestrian accidents than any other municipality,” Denham said. ”We have had some in the area of the off-ramp and AM/PM intersection. The majority in town have been at the Oregon Avenue/1st Street intersection.”
Denham said at the Oregon Avenue/1st Street intersection, one woman has been ”hit” about three times. He said it’s never anything serious, but that it is unusual to have the same victim multiple times, where she ”somehow gets bumped and falls down,” Denham said.
Denham warns that drivers should ”pause and look at the crosswalks – or any other part of the intersection – to watch for pedestrians, as well as notice walk signals.”
Pedestrians should make sure vehicles see them before entering the roadway of the intersection, he said.
”Sometimes, making that first forward step a pause step (take the step, then pause), allows all vehicles in the intersection to see and recognize your intentions to cross and react,” Denham said. ”This also allows you to ensure the vehicle stops before just walking out into an injury.”
Pedestrians and bike riders should also wear something other than black or dark clothes with reflective material on them in the hours between dusk and dawn, he added.
