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Author
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Topic: A Rant: My Hit & Run Experience
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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted May 12, 2012 12:02 AM
Here is a copy of a letter that I have sent to the 3 television stations, newspaper, and a popular morning radio station where I live. Typically, there has been no response from any of them. Please don't tell me what I should have done differently, because at the time I did the best I could. And I have turned it over many times since in my mind. Part of the problem is that in SC, you only get one license plate which was not on the front of the vehicle where I could have read it...
Yesterday the 9th, I was involved in a Hit and Run accident. I was crossing the intersection of Carriage Lane and Hwy. 61 in West Ashley at approx. 10:30 AM. I had the right of way but a driver making a right turn on red never saw me. I am disabled and a full time caregiver for my Mom who just turned 95. I was using her electric scooter and I had 3 safety devices on it that I installed myself: A blinking Orange multiple LED light Flagpole, a multiple LED Light on the front basket, and I was wearing a DayGlo Hunter Orange Baseball Cap that has 3 LED Lights on it. All for safety and to increase visibility. The driver didn't stop until I screamed twice. She smashed the front scooter basket making it useless, and ran over my left foot. When her car stopped, it was on top of my foot until I screamed again. Finally she gets out of the car, asks me if I am okay. I tell her I will need to call the Police on my cell phone and that I was going to have to have x-rays. She says she will go into the parking lot behind us so we could clear the intersection. Well I did the same but she disappeared. I did not get the tag number so the Police cannot help me though a report was filed. There were cars behind her so some people did bear witness. A Broadcast Story might help me get justice because I cannot afford to replace the damaged basket to the scooter. (And cannot submit a claim to the driver's insurance without the tag number to give to the Police). The news story could have a safety angle encouraging the increasing amount of drivers here to be more alert and to yield to bicycles and pedestrians. Charleston is only just now installing more wheelchair curbs and improving sidewalks as well as bicycle lanes. And I see more people walking and cycling partly due to the economy. So a News Story would serve multiple purposes. I am willing to be interviewed and filmed but you have to come to me. You see, our car was sold for scrap several months ago; we cannot afford another car and the scooter is our lifeblood. Another interesting slant which you could cover in the story is the odd situation involving medical care at the scene. I did not accept an ambulance because I could not take the scooter with me. Same as for EMS because they could not do x-rays. I discussed this with the officer: I had to drive the scooter back home before it rained. Ten minutes after I got it indoors, it started to rain. If I had been able to take the scooter with me, It would have not helped me to get home as the batteries would have needed a charge and it was raining. I could not afford a taxi to go to the ER. My social worker was contacted and they would not authorize the cost of a taxi either. So just getting to the ER was very difficult; I finally was able to have a friend arrange through his church for someone to drive me there. Financially, Mom and I are just getting by. If you would like to arrange a interview, please e-mail or call me at: (XXX)XXX-XXXX. With the death the other day of the man on a moped being hit by a truck downtown, I would like the public to become more aware of the safety issues -- I see the vehicular traffic increasing annually here.
Sincerely,
Joseph Balitzki
I have slightly edited the letter. I am posting this to vent and to encourage everyone to pay more attention when you are driving to pedestrians. I now have to replace the damaged part out of my own pocket. To those of you who have read this far, thank you for reading this post.
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Movie Lovers Do It in the Dark
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted May 12, 2012 04:45 AM
Hello Joe,my sympathies for what could have been a tragic
accident.Unfortunately we live in this "claim culture" society and
the ugly side of human nature all to often is revealed,hence the
disappearance of the driver.In the UK, which is the most spied
upon nation in the world,we do have a lot of CCTV cameras used
in traffic surveillance,do you have the same in the USA?
Failing that,surely shops in the vicinity or garages using CCTV
might have caught the incident on camera.It's the injustice of
the whole thing that makes my blood boil,that someone could have been killed,and the onus is placed on the victim.I do hope
you recover Joe and thank God you're still here among us.
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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted May 12, 2012 06:01 AM
While there are cameras at a few select intersections, that one does not have surveillance. And they were only put where a lot of cars run through a red light. The Police can't/won't do anything without the driver's license plate. As far as getting any information from other sources, unless the media runs a story it won't happen. It appears they just aren't interested unless someone is killed. And this past year I know of at least 3 accidents covered by the media where someone was killed by a auto. In one case, they were crossing a bridge that has no walkway on their bicycle. Now the city is enforcing a ban on vehicles other than cars on it. But there is no way for those who want to go downtown other than by car or bus. The irony is they just painted a bicycle lane on a newly paved road that ends at that bridge. Many people have expressed interest in going green with their daily commute that work downtown but have complained that there are no provisions to cross the river for bicycles or pedestrians. The downtown district is on a peninsula. On the other side of the district a brand new bridge was built that has a walkway and the residents requested it by voting. It is extremely popular. The city spends with a lavish hand for tourism which increases the traffic. But have only recently been installing wheelchair sidewalk ramps at curbs. At some intersections near me new traffic lights have been installed with push buttons for pedestrians but they just sit there for months not in service waiting to be wired and made operational. Some streets have no sidewalks at all or only along part of their length. This is a city, not a country town so that makes it difficult for me to go to certain places. I have to memorize the streets that have sidewalks. When I go to the shopping mall, the sidewalks end at the lights alongside it. I am forced to travel a short but potentially dangerous distance on the street to get into the mall parking lot. (Which is why I have installed the safety items on the scooter and wear the Day-Glo Orange hat) With Baby Boomers getting older, and more people walking and cycling, you would think the media would show some interest. Some of the television stations have a "crime stoppers" department and they have not responded either.
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Movie Lovers Do It in the Dark
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted May 12, 2012 09:26 AM
Joe it sounds a real mess,I still can't understand when you had your accident,why you weren't taken to Hospital and your little
scooter taken home for you.The police in the UK,I must give
credit to,when there has been an accident are very efficient in
keeping roads clear and making sure that the victims are taken
care of, including the removal of your scooter.Also there would have been a description taken of the
car and person driving it and in my vicinity,it would have been on
the News suppliment on TV and calling for witnesses.When it comes to road accidents the British copper is very efficient and
usually very sympathetic to the injured,and I am not a fan of
the police by any stretch,but I think how you were treated was
disgusting for a modern society.Two years ago a young fellow came off his motorcycle outside our house due to the snow,
we got his bike onto the drive and took him in until he could
get his insurance co. to pick his machine up some hours later.
He was just shaken,but after numerous cups of tea was fine.
In the uk ,we have local councilors or the local MP.who would
take complaints regarding road safety issues,have you something similar in the US?Something obviously needs to be done before there's another fatality.What Winbert said also rings
true in Britain,license plates must be visible both front and rear
of any vehicle.Also my best wishes to yourself and your Mum.
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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted May 12, 2012 12:00 PM
I have lived in 3 states so far. Two of them only require one license plate. I don't know why its done, but as you can see it makes identification of vehicles impossible if you cannot see the rear of them which I couldn't. Naturally, the cars behind me saw it. As a last resort, I sent the letter to the Mayor's office but with the passage of time I am not optimistic. The officer that took the report agreed with me that most likely the ambulance wouldn't take the scooter along even though it separates into several pieces for transport. Now mind you, she could have asked them. But how to get home with it from the hospital would have been another issue. The scooter has a value of $1500. When Mom received it, we had to pay the balance after her insurance which was nearly $500. No way was I going anywhere without it. Here in the U.S.A. its all about $$$. And regarding the driver: I suspect (and Mom does too) that she was holding a cell phone to her right ear which blocked her right hand vision. Because if you are going to make a right turn on a red light, you obviously would look in that direction! We suspect that she has a bad driving record and did not want the accident on her car insurance. As far as services for Mom, they are extremely limited or nonexistent due to budget cuts. Because we do not have a National Healthcare System in place, a lot of people fall through the cracks. This country sure isn't what it used to be, and sadly a lot of people don't behave like they did years ago. Case in point: the day after the accident I had to call the rental office for our apartment. The b*tch next door to us won't park in front of her door but she parks in front of ours. She has two parking spaces; we have one. When her company stops by, they use our space. I told the office that just because we no longer have a car, under our lease agreement the space is still ours. That if it didn't stop, I was going to start calling the Police. Only after that did the office agree to speak to her. Our space is used for deliveries, taxicabs, etc. Mind you, we have lived here 15 years. It took a year of requests before they installed a ramp at our door for the wheelchair and scooter. Our location is close to doctors, hospitals, and stores, so not having a car now is not that much of a hardship. But the behavior of past tenants that have lived next door to us I could write a book about!
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Movie Lovers Do It in the Dark
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