(Updated) A man remained in critical condition after he was hit by a car while dashing across a busy East Rock thoroughfare to catch a bus Tuesday, according to police.
The collision took place around 5:45 p.m. on a busy stretch of Willow Street at Nash Street, not far from where cars leave and enter the highway.
The man was crossing the street towards the Shell gas station, apparently trying to catch the M2 bus, according to Sgt. Marco Francia.
A tan Audi hit him.
Police taped off the area and held an accident scene there as late as 8:30 p.m. Police held the bus at the scene in the hopes of recovering video footage from its cameras, Francia said.
The pedestrian “darted out” into traffic, according to one stunned driver stuck in a line of three cars being held at the scene.
Police spokesman Dave Hartman said Thursday that the accident investigation is on-going.
“The pedestrian was struck as he ran across Willow Street (near Nash Street) with someone else as they tried to catch a bus,” Hartman wrote. “The pedestrian was not in a cross-walk and did not have the right of way. The operator of the car stopped and has cooperated fully with the investigation.”
Police have not yet determined how fast the car was going, Hartman said. As of Wednesday afternoon, the victim remained in critical condition at Yale- New Haven Hospital, he said.
In response to concerns about speeding on that street, Hartman issued the following statement:
“Willow Street is heavily traveled and narrow. It runs for seven blocks from Whitney Avenue to Mitchell Drive. Two of the intersecting streets end at Willow Street, but do not cross it. There are 5 traffic control lights in this stretch of roadway.
“The department takes traffic concerns seriously. Enforcement efforts target many areas of the city as resources are available. A note of caution — The speed at which a vehicle is traveling is most often incorrectly perceived by pedestrians as higher — sometimes much higher than it actually is. The roadway sign the person reported as reading, “State law — Yield to pedestrians” actually reads … in a crosswalk”. This pedestrian wasn’t.”
How fast was the car going? If it was going the speed limit, changes are the pedestrian would not be in critical condition.