I had just boarded a bus headed for home today after work. An African-American woman, whom I'd guess would be in middle age, judging by the gray in her hair, was chatting on her cell phone with someone, then decided to get off the bus, just before the driver was ready to pull out and resume her run. In her haste, the woman never saw a silver pickup truck approaching until it was too late. The truck made contact, and the woman fell to the ground.
Within minutes, a pair of rescue squad trucks and 2 Menands police cruisers arrived, followed by two ambulances. Traffic was rerouted while the EMT's attended to the victim. A supervisor from the bus company took pictures and talked to the driver, as did the police. The woman was taken to the hospital, but as I write these words, I do not know her exact condition. After a 30 minute wait, the bus was finally able to resume its run without further incident.
On either side of the street, there are buttons that can control the traffic lights for no more than about 30 seconds. The victim never considered this option. Had she done so, there would've been no accident. If I could venture a guess, I'd say the person she'd been conversing with on the phone might've been closer than she thought, and so she decided to leave the bus and catch up. She forgot one of the most fundamental rules of traffic safety, and didn't check either side of the road before attempting to cross the street. As the bus driver pointed out, the light was red when the woman began to cross, then changed to green as she got halfway. In short, she was caught in No Man's Land. I only pray that she will survive this accident.
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