Pedestrian Injury Involving Police Officer

Fairfax Injury Lawyer Brien Roche Addresses Pedestrian Injury
Brien Roche

On May 13, 2020 at approximately 11:00 p.m., a DC Police Officer was hit by a Metrobus while chasing a suspect that he believed was armed.  The officer was seriously injured. The pedestrian injury occurred on Bladensburg Road at Levis Street, NE.

The bus was heading south on Bladensburg Road. It was shifting from the center to the right lane.  In the right lane it struck the officer. He was running across the street.  

The Chief of Police reports that the bus driver was not at fault.  

Crashes of this type are horrible. The officer was focused on the person he was chasing. Call, or contact us for a free consult.

Pedestrian Injury-Walking Can Be Safe

A pedestrian injury like this is an exception. Walking is a way to reduce health risks, obesity and greenhouse gases. Four of the heavily populated states accounted for 43% of pedestrian deaths. Delaware and Florida have the highest per capita pedestrian death rate.

Factors Related to Death in Pedestrian Injury

The six factors most related to pedestrian deaths are:

  • Age. Pedestrians 70 or older have the highest per capita crash rate of any age group. Hence this is a group that must be vigilant.
  • Gender. About 70% of pedestrians killed in vehicle crashes are males.
  • Time of day. Most deaths are in the evening after 6 PM.
  • Alcohol. More than a third of pedestrians in the year 2013 who were 16 or older involved in fatal crashes had blood alcohol levels of .08 or higher.
  • Distractions. A survey by Liberty Mutual Insurance indicated that 60% of pedestrians were doing other activities while walking. In other words they were texting or talking on a cell phone.
  • Driver speed. Driver speed increases the chance of death. As a result many states have decreased the speed limit in congested areas. The death speed is thought of as being 25 mph or higher.

Safety Measures

Some safety measures to protect people on foot are pedestrian safety islands and longer pedestrian signal timing. For instance more visible crosswalks may help. Also better education on pedestrian safety is needed. Pedestrian rights and safety must be emphasized to young or inexperienced drivers. Without this, pedestrian crashes will continue to rise. Call, or contact us for a free consult.

Pedestrian Injury In DC

The city council in the District of Columbia has passed laws giving greater protection to certain people. The law applies to pedestrians, bike riders and other persons using a vehicle without a motor on the public highway.  The protection comes in the form of replacing the contributory negligence standard. The new standard is comparative negligence.

The language in the statute is that the fault of the plaintiff is not always a bar to the claim where such fault is a cause of the injury. However the caveat is that the plaintiff’s fault must not be more than 50%.

However in most other negligence claims in the District of Columbia fault on the part of the plaintiff bars the claim. That fault must cause in a substantial fashion the injury. Hence that rule of law no longer applies to the above protected classes.
Some question exists as to whether or not this new statute found at DC Code § 50-2204.52 is retroactive.  In other words it is not clear in that regard. It does state that it applies to “any civil action”. Therefore this would suggest that it applies to pending civil actions and also civil actions to be filed.

Call, or contact us for a free consult. For more information on pedestrian accidents see the page on Wikipedia dealing with pedestrians.

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Brien Roche

Brien A. Roche has been an attorney since 1976. Mr. Roche is admitted to practice in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. In addition to his busy law practice, Mr. Roche is also a published author of several books & articles relating to the practice of law.

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