The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
It was a drizzly, gray Monday morning when Chun Chang Tang, a 23-year-old college student from China, began the trek from her hotel apartment to her housekeeping job at a Days Inn on Atlantic Avenue.
She paused at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and 15th Street and waited for traffic to stop before she stepped into the crosswalk, she said. A moment later, she was lying on the pavement with a concussion, a bruised shoulder, a broken hip and a shattered pelvis.
Police initially said the driver who struck Tang had the right-of-way and would not face criminal charges. But according to state code, which gives the right-of-way to pedestrians on roadways with speed limits of 35 mph or slower, the driver should have stopped for Tang.
There was no crossing signal at the intersection where Tang was struck, but flashing lights along Pacific Avenue warn drivers to watch out for pedestrians. The speed limit there is 35 mph.
Officer Jimmy Barnes, a spokesman for the Police Department, said Tuesday that the driver did not have the right-of-way but was not charged because he or she couldn't see Tang as she crossed in front of the other vehicles. The weather was also a factor, and the driver was not speeding, he said.
"She would've had the right of way, but still, when you're in the roadway, you've still got to be cautious," Barnes said. "She couldn't been seen by this other driver, and that's why (the officer) felt like it couldn't be helped."
Tang underwent surgery to place steel screws in her hip, and the doctor said she probably won't walk for the next six weeks, she said Tuesday while recovering at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. She's hoping to recover in time to still see some of the country before her semester starts Oct. 8 in Chongqing, China.
Representatives from Cultural Homestay International, the nonprofit exchange program that sponsored Tang to come to the United States, and the organization's partner in China, the Stilwell International Student Exchange Program, are informing Tang of her options, including civil action. The decision is hers, said Teresa Ottofaro, Cultural Homestay International's employment services manager.
Tang has insurance to cover her medical expenses, but she won't be able to work to pay her rent or cover other expenses, Ottofaro said.
"Her family invested money for her to come over for the cultural experience," Ottofaro said. "That's not an option anymore. She has no way to pay her rent."
Tang remains optimistic. Her friends and co-workers visited her at the hospital, bringing gifts and reading materials.
"I feel lucky that I've just broken my bones. I feel so loved," Tang said.
Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
dangerouse oceanfront crosswalks
I see this happen ALL the time at two sets of intersections heavily traveled by pedestrians due to Lake Holly, 16th and Pacific/ 16th and Atlantic and 11th and Pacific/ 11th and Atlantic. Neither of these crosswalks have pedestrian lights. I see near misses weekly where cars stop in three lanes and a lone car in one of the outside lanes fails to do so. Most of the time it is a vehicle that was initially on an inside lane that sweeps into the outside lane when a car in front of them stops! This driver might not have seen the pedestrian if the car in the lane next to it had stopped and was a minivan, truck or SUV... So basically the officer believes that the driver was 'innocent' of wrong-doing because the driver chose to enter an intersection at full speed after all other cars had stopped AND the conditions were such that the driver had no visibility into the intersection! I'm assuming that had the officer charged this driver, either the driver or his/her driver's insurance company would have been responsible for paying this young woman's medical bills and loss of work. I sure hope some lawyer out there is able to give this woman legal advice that leads to some other resolution
Dangerous Roads
Despite the laws on the books in Virginia that give pedestrians the right of way, Hampton roads is without a doubt the most pedestrian unfriendly area I've ever seen, and I've lived in 12 different states.
I pity someone who has to walk or ride a bike to work around here.
The city needs
and I don't know if it exists, speed detecting cameras. Big Brother is already here, so use "him/her" to the advantage of the public. As for the speeders, hit them hard, say, $ 100 dollars for every mile over the speed limit. No reason to bust speed limits and if someone does, make them pay and pay dearly.
The Right Call
After reading many of the comments, I’m so glad that the police have the fairness and expertise to make what is most likely the right call in this tragic case. It’s entirely plausible given the disproportionate number of enormous, lumbering, and obnoxious SUV’s and jacked up for no reason pickup trucks that the driver genuinely couldn’t see the victim as she made her way in front of those vehicles and crossed in front of her and still slow down in time. Also it’s downright scary that a statue exists that basically says that someone could be falling down drunk in the middle of the night, decide to cross the road at any given point and as long as the limit is 35mph., the driver will most likely be at fault. That makes the pedestrian’s actions and behavior the responsibility of the driver and yet the driver has no control over those variables. We need to get that law repealed and enforce pedestrian laws along with vehicle laws.
Right Call???
You must be kidding, 3 other drivers stopped to allow her to cross the street and the 4th driver hits her. Definetly sounds like he/she is responsible for this. Even if Va Beach doesn't prosecute I certainly hope that she reads the comments here and realizes that she needs to persue legal action directly against the driver and claim her $1.5 million dollars that she is due. Go for it, make them and others pay, maybe they will slow/stop at crosswalks when needed.
This is getting insane!
"Officer Jimmy Barnes, a spokesman for the Police Department, said Tuesday that the driver did not have the right-of-way but was not charged because he or she couldn't see Tang. . ."
Why is it perfectly legal in Virginia to kill people in a car and say you didn't see them. It stated with the lady who killed an x Navy Seal riding his bicycle on Shore Drive and has now blossomed into a lock solid defense. This is one backwater State.
Police should have pressed charges!
It is RIDICULOUS how many of the drivers at the oceanfront ignore/"do not see" the pedestrians. At some point the police need to enforce speed limits on Pacific and Baltic. Most cars travel at about 45mph on Baltic regularly, yet police are never present to pull these huge SUVs going 45mph....oh well, I guess if they hit a pedestrian all they have to do is say that they didn't see him or her.
Let me get this straight
If you step in front of a moving car, you can sue if the car hits you?
Drivers
I think Dr Tabor resents anyone who goes anywhere using any mode of transportation other than a car. Personally I think that people in cars are always in a hurry and quite often have a very self focused 'get out of my way cuz I'm more important' type of attitude. Thus the lack of care and consideration for slower moving cyclists and walkers.
I agree that cyclists should follow traffic laws, we should ride in single file and respect the fact that we too are sharing the road.
I like to walk but I also
I like to walk but I also know that if I have not made eye contact with the driver that they might not have seen me. I may have the right of way but I don't wish to be dead right a person in conflict with a vehicle looses every time. Pay attention when you are in the street.