A 60-year-old man is in a hospital with minor injuries after a vehicle struck him on Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek early Thursday morning, a police lieutenant said.
The collision was reported at 5:21 a.m. on westbound Ygnacio Valley at San Carlos Drive, Walnut Creek police Lt. Andy Brown said.
A vehicle in the No. 3 westbound lane struck the man while he walked in the crosswalk on the east side of the intersection, Brown said.
He was taken to nearby John Muir Medical Center to be treated for his injuries. The driver stopped at the scene and cooperated with investigators, according to Brown.
The collision prompted delays for morning commuters, police said.
This is a terrible intersection as it’s also the entrance to Heather Farm Park and the Seven Hills School. I am not commenting on this gentleman’s situation, however:
At this intersection, a pedestrian does not get a lighted number count UNLESS they press the button before the light turns green in their favor. This is absolutely unsafe and puts pedestrians at additional risk.
Every time the light turns green on the San Carlos side pedestrians SHOULD get a lighted count of 25 seconds. Then they can wait five seconds to accommodate the red light runners, and then proceed to cross safely. Reprogramming the lights is imperative, as is a periodic sweep to ticket the substantial quantity of red light runners. Again I am not commenting on this specific incident.
No. If you want to cross the street, press the darn button. It’s not that hard.
OK, let’s start over: For example, if you are reaching for the button and the light turns green a nanosecond before, you will not get a count. The timing needs to be adjusted.
@spectator
Duh… Do you think other lights on Ygnacio crosswalks work any differently? Let me enlighten you – they are all set up not to start the count if the button is pressed after the light has turned green. After all Ygnacio is a major commuter route and not your backyard horse-and-buggy lane.
And what’s so unsafe about waiting for the next change of lights, at which point you do get the count?
This one is a school and park crossing, it needs improving. Relax, it’s nothing personal.
@spectator
Ah – I see. So there is nothing especially unsafe about this crossing as compared to others with a lot of foot traffic. Like CVHCS on Alberta.
But unlike others, pedestrians at this particular intersection can’t be made to wait for their signal, therefore it needs improvement.
Got it. Nothing personal.
People are driving carelessly and too fast. Way too many innocent pedestrians are getting hurt or killed every day that are in crosswalks.
While we don’t know for certain what happened in this particular case, I can tell you that I see people Jaywalking across Willow Pass, Concord Ave, Clayton Road, Treat Blvd pretty much every day, and the police ignore it.
And then when an accident does occur, there is hand wringing and gnashing of teeth.
Many times pedestrians are too confident that they are seen by drivers.
SO many times they step out without looking or making eye contact or waiting til driver stops.
We all know drivers get distracted and many go way too fast.
It is important for pedestrians to be extra cautious when entering a street and drivers to always be alert for them. It’s a mess out there! .
This wasn’t the case. The pedestrian didn’t have the light. The light was in the favor of the commute traffic.
The pedestrian ran out in front of the car and was wearing all black.The driver had the green light and wasn’t speeding. The guy came running out of nowhere. He got lucky.
Did you see it happen?
Well he couldn’t get much closer to John Muir.
I was right behind the truck when it happened. And yes what “commuter” said was exactly how it happened. Not speed or distracted driving or carelessness, it was just an accident that happened by a pedestrian walking when he wasn’t supposed to. Glad the man is ok, I sent up some prayers because it looked pretty bad initially. Be careful out there because accidents do happen!!
very traumatizing for everyone involved and at the scene. 🙁
Many times, people on this website have stated that pedestrians always have the right-of-way. That is an untrue statement, and anyone who believes it is a hazard to themselves and others. And even when the pedestrian does have the right-of-way, it is in their best interest to look out for their own safety.
I’m old enough to remember the old Public Service Announcement that even if you’re right, don’t be dead right.
Or as I say, if you believe pedestrians always have the right of way, you don’t believe in physics.
And unlike traffic laws, the Laws of Physics will always be enforced.
Well I learned in the military that contrary to the laws of physics, heat travels down.
In the Navy, we observed other things that always seemed to flow downhill.
There has been a lot of pedestrian hits in Concord and around. I wish if a pedestrian press the button to go across the crosswalk that all signal lights on all sides turn red and let the pedestrian cross for a time. Once that time is over then the lights can then return to normal operations.
Eons ago I used to walk through intersections during dark hours either early or late. I assumed that drivers could see me clearly. Well wearing dark clothing nobody can see you at all, especially operators of motor vehicles behind a windshield. It’s imperative everyone understands that concept !!!