"Bill H." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/03/BAGJ1PJQRH38.DTL
"Brake failure" my ass. The problem was with the driver, a 70-year
old man who, most likely, got confused or distracted and ended up
hitting the accelerator instead of the brake.
Anyone else think we need to keep old people out of the driver's
seat? Their reaction time is slower, and they're more likely to get
confused. I know there's plenty of perfectly lucid drivers in their
70s or 80s out there...but I think they should at least be required to
renew their license annually through rigorous testing on a road course
designed to test reaction time and judgment.
How about this one?---
http://pasco.tbo.com/pasco/MGBG79TJ81F.html
PORT RICHEY - Just as she did each school day, Alyssa Tippett walked her
younger brother home from Chasco Elementary on Wednesday afternoon.
But this time it was anything but routine.
Alyssa, 13, was walking west on the sidewalk along Bramblewood Drive to the
family's apartment nearby on Isabella Drive when a 2004 Mitsubishi SUV
struck her about 4 p.m.
"He dragged her under the car," said Alyssa's sister, Ashley, 15, surrounded
by friends and trying to hold back tears that later would come.
Alyssa was flown by medical helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St.
Petersburg. Her condition wasn't immediately known Wednesday evening.
Her brother, John Dantouno, 9, was unscathed physically but was distraught
after watching his sister get hit, said the siblings' grandmother, Grace
Taylor.
After hitting Alyssa, the red sport utility vehicle driven by Jose Martinez
mowed down a small tree at 7513 Bramblewood Drive, hit a minivan in the
driveway and then smashed into the partially open garage door.
Somewhere along the way, he took out Dawn Hoffman's mailbox across the
street. She was standing in her living room when something caught her eye
outside.
"I watched my mailbox go flying," said Hoffman, 32. "As soon as I opened my
front door, the car was in the garage."
John Kolesnick, 82, was at the home - where the SUV ended up - when he heard
"a big noise." He and his son, K.C., 47, who owns the house, went outside to
see what the commotion was and heard neighbors yelling.
"There's a girl under there," they hollered.
Hoffman saw Alyssa's feet sticking out from beneath the SUV and, with other
neighbors, ran to aid and comfort the girl. They placed concrete blocks
under the Mitsubishi's tires and jacked up the SUV to relieve the pressure
on Alyssa while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
Alyssa was conscious and talking, K.C. Kolesnick said.
"She was telling me she didn't want to go to the hospital," he said.
Obviously that wasn't an option, Kolesnick said.
Outside in his driveway, he pointed to the fallen tree.
"My tree saved her," Kolesnick said.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Martinez, 58, of 8005 Banister Lane, told
them he was driving with his wife west on Bramblewood when he swerved to
avoid a bicyclist.
"This is my first time in my life," he said about the accident.
Martinez and his wife weren't injured.
---This article doesn't go into detail, but the "driver" was an
elderly(possibly 60s or older) non-English speaking Hispanic who claimed he
was under the influence of prescription drugs. I don't understand how people
who can't speak the language can possibly safely navigate in traffic. He's
lucky he didn't kill the girl.
