As parents with a young child in a stroller were attempting to cross a Phoenix intersection on October 14, 2019, a Jeep sped through a red light and barreled toward them. At the last second, another car traveling through the green light t-boned the Jeep and pushed it away from the pedestrians, perhaps saving their lives.
The driver of the Jeep and his passenger fled the scene and were overtaken by police nearby. The man is in custody facing DUI and aggravated assault charges as well as outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants.
According to the Arizona Department of Transportation Crash Facts Summary for 2018, there were 1,595 accidents involving pedestrians. There were 14,356 hit-and-run accidents. There were also thousands of accidents caused by drivers who failed to obey traffic laws, including:
21,755 from failure to yield right-of-way
1,070 from running a stop sign
5,344 from disregarding a traffic signal
Out of the 127,056 accidents in the state in 2018, 4,651 involved alcohol. Drinking and driving also caused 242 fatal crashes and 1,943 crashes with injuries last year. This number is lower than recent years, but still very high. Drunk drivers caused 194 collisions with pedestrians in 2018, and the majority of these drivers were male.
There are many victims in the accident that occurred on October 14. The pedestrians had to run and jump to get out of the way of the oncoming Jeep, and may have sustained injuries trying to race across the road. The Chevrolet Cruze traveling through the green light was hit quite hard by the Jeep, and it is unclear whether the driver sustained injuries and to what extent. A witness also tried to get the driver of the Jeep to stop before police arrived and was confronted at knifepoint by the man. It is unclear whether he sustained injuries.
When a person is injured in an accident, it is often the insurance company for the person at fault that offers a settlement. In some cases, these initial settlements are quite low, and the victims need an experienced attorney to help them negotiate for what they deserve. This money can help with everything from medical expenses to recovery costs.