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Police hunt driver who dragged and killed a pedestrian in Charlestown
By adamg on Wed, 01/06/2021 - 12:23am
WCVB reports a driver slammed into somebody at the intersection of Chelsea and 13th streets in Charlestown, then dragged him a half mile before driving away, around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
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Comments
Do the right thing, driver
If you don't turn yourself in, how can they let you off with a warning and a pinky swear never to do it again?
It's _possible_
It's _possible_
ffs
Almost anything is possible
If the driver knowingly committed a deadly hit and run, they should go to prison and lose their license for life.
If the driver hit another person, dragged them 1/2 mile killing them, then drove off, all without being aware, there is less intent (but still criminal liability) and the person has also demonstrated that they are not qualified to ever have a license again.
Can anyone come up with a hypothetical in which this driver should have a license again? (Spoiler: he or she will)
I cannot.
Unless someone was holding a gun to this driver’s head and telling them to drive on or else.
This driver is dangerous and should never be allowed the privilege of being behind the wheel ever again.
Well
It's now being investigated as a suicide. Would you still crucify the driver because someone jumps in front of his mack truck?
yes, please blame the victim
Because that bullshit scenario explains why they dragged the body for 1/2 mile.
A suicide?
Someone jumped in front of a car, got hit, and then held onto the car until dead?
Hit and run Miranda
You have the right to a ridiculous excuse. If you do not have one, the police will provide one for you.
Driver may not know he hit someone....?
Ya but after you hear about it... do the right thing, it could have been your father or Papa. Put the damn shoe on and see how it fits!
Some say drivers are what is
Some say drivers are what is wrong with Boston and there needs to be way more enforcement and stricter laws? But but but I saw a pedestrian walk slightly out of the crosswalk the other week!!1 And I think a cyclist gave me a mean stare once. These are equal to brutally killing someone because whataboutism!
Week Old Bread
It is as stale as your material.
Stale?
Or just a problem that isn't being solved so hit hapens over and over again?
Tired of his material? Make it outdated. Start jailing drivers and yanking licenses.
Baked fresh daily
His material will only become stale when the frequent carnage stops.
I can see the point you are
I can see the point you are trying to make, but there are actually pedestrians who enter roadways with absolutely no regard for their own safety. I couldn't believe my eyes one morning when I watched someone duck and run under the trailer of a slow moving 18-wheeler, rather than waiting the, what, 5 seconds for it to pass.
I'm not trying to extrapolate from a single anecdote but it is possible that an operator of a vehicle could be doing everything legally correct and still end up with this result.
We can have terrible drivers, terribly designed roads and still have a small number of pedestrians who proceed with reckless abandon.
That bizarre story is a great
That bizarre story is a great illustration of whataboutism. A person is dead. There is no information indicating that the pedestrian broke any rule. Unexpected obstructions are part of driving. If you can't stop in time, then your car is going too fast. US motor vehicle laws are biased in the favor of cars.
And what is the point you ...
... are trying to make?
That sympathy should lie with drivers because maybe possibly a pedestrian might make an error in judgement?
Someone was just killed by a hit and run driver.
It never fails to amaze me how quickly people look the other way, recall their own reckless driving habits and feel bad for drivers who maim and kill.
Just responding to the
Just responding to the comment I was responding to...
Not really sure where I did any of those things you described.
"Some" say?
Man, that reminds me of a year ago, when Mike Bloomberg was running for President and basically bought all the ad time in the market. He had some ad where he says "some are saying." No, Mike, you are (or were) saying it.
But yes, you are part of "some", and as always you made this about you.
That seems hard to do
While going 25 mph.
This is a terribly designed street though. While the onus is on the driver to drive the speed limit and be alert regardless, this street is four wide lanes, plus the way it parallels the huge steel girder Tobin screams "this thing is a highway drive like it's one." It should be one lane in each direction with protected bike lanes and huge obvious signaled crosswalks with pedestrian-controlled flashing lights.
Another Idea
I agree this street design is terrible. And I agree that one lane (big enough for the car transporters that use it frequently) in each direction is better. But I think most cyclists use the path through the Navy Yard, just 100 meters south of Chelsea St.
What about a green median to help offset the steel and concrete bleakness of the Tobin Bridge?
I had that thought too
I'd have to see research though; my gut and what I've heard is that medians make people drive faster, but I don't know if research actually demonstrates this is true. Maybe a green median with tons of signaled crosswalks?
Mostly agreed
The street is currently 46 feet wide, which is 4 x 11.5 foot lanes
What if it was narrowed to 2x12 foot lanes, plus 2x2 foot shoulders? That would leave 16 feet of street real estate for whatever was deemed appropriate (bicycles, turn lanes, going inbound, maybe even a bus lane for the 93 at the eastern end).
Nowhere near the volume to necessitate multiple lanes here.
Fair
It's tough to design because the lanes need to be wide enough for those huge trucks but not so wide as to encourage speeding. There also aren't a lot of pedestrian crossings or even opportunities to add pedestrian crossings because the Navy Yard and the Tobin make it a walled corridor.
So I'm not sure what needs to change, but change is needed.
Wider sidewalks, too
I used to wait for the bus there and the sidewalks were pretty narrow in places. Not sure why given the low traffic volumes. Particularly nasty in the winter when those sidewalks are packed with snow from the street and rarely cleared.
One wide lane with turn lanes would be good enough for the trucks and busses headed to Medford St.
It would also be nice to have bike lanes as the Navy Yard is quite crowded in the summer months and many cyclists use Medford. St. if they work in the area.
12 feet
Is good enough for Interstates across the country (a lot of the Pike is narrower). 10 feet is good enough for local roadways. These trucks are 8.5 feet wide.
You've got to understand
If you're a pedestrian in this city, cars are going to run you down like a dog, drag you for a half a mile and take off.
I mean, they guy was probably wearing headphones, right?
Some of
You on here may hate me and think I’m a wackadoo conservative. I submit we should ban all cars in Boston. Have giant underground parking garages on the outskirts of town and set up a monorail system. This dot rat speaks truth.
This but unironically
N/t