I've lived here so long--40 years or so--that I know to be darned careful at
the 4 accident prone intersections: Lake and Park, Lake and Portland, 31st and
Park, 31st and Portland. Since I drive through each of those intersections at
least once a day, I've seen tons of fender benders, one accident that killed 4
people (31st and Park), drunk driving which takes down road signs and scares
pedestrians out of their shoes, etc. I've gotten so I can tell how bad an
accident is by ear. And of course, I usually note the aftermath of glass and
car parts even when I was not at home when an accident happened.
Now that the city has installed those clever countdown walk lights, there is no
excuse for running a red light at those corners. If the walk light says 3 and
you are not already in the intersection, then you put on your brakes
immediately. Easy peasy. It's a no fail unless you are determined to run a red
light. That's why I started this thread saying "accident" in quotes. Law
enforcement does not have a check off box for deliberate, though I bet they
wish they could make that judgement on the spot.
If either of those people died last night, then a whole series of events click
into place. In that event I hope that the speeding red light runner gets time
in the pokey--lots of time--for vehicular homicide. If they survive, I hope
he/she get time for making such a god awful mess of lives, property, and
traffic. Tying up Lake St. during rush hour should be a crime in itself.
Oh, and a shout out to the tow truck driver, he cleaned up the mess so slick,
even putting the rolled over car upright and onto his flatbed. I applauded him.