Driver Hits Pedestrian

How many more pedestrians will be hurt or killed by drivers before something gets done to protect pedestrians?

Current speeds along Chapel are inappropriate given the amount of pedestrian activity in that area. As a result there have been many pedestrian injuries.

Traffic calming measures like bump-outs, raised crosswalks, mid-block crosswalks, and narrower lanes that limit average speeds to about 12 miles per hour are very common in other cities. They have long been needed for the section of Chapel Street between State and Howe.

People not in cars continue to pay the price for the errors made by people protected by high-speed metal cages. I am thankful that this victim of traffic violence is still alive. The fact that this driver is only being charged with misdemeanors is ludicrous - this country takes motor vehicle violations too lightly. Suspend his license or revoke it. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

Released on misdemeanor charges? It's revealing that the charges only pertain to his conduct in isolation from the impact on the victim. Why wasn't he charged with assault? It's well-past time for felony assault charges to be routine for cases of traffic violence.

Now this is one for the books as far as progressive law policies go, and I quote:

The driver didn't stop. As he drove through the intersection. "the front passenger side of his vehicle struck" a 31-year-old Hamden woman who was crossing the street.

"...The driver remained at the scene. Police arrived to find the woman "bloodied" and "lying in the street."

She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening internal injuries and a head laceration. Her condition is listed as stable.

The driver failed a field sobriety test at the scene. He was taken to 1 Union Ave, then later released with a summons for the misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and failing to stop for a stop sign. He is due in court on June 1."

When I think of misdemeanor chargers, I think of something along the lines of graffiti, or smashing someone's window, atv's driving on someone's lawn... - not "driving under the influence and failing to stop for a stop sign" not too mention hitting a pedestrian, funny how that's lost in the charges....

Yup - that's progressive law making, defund the police, covid-19, among other things.... all in action.

Sounds like NH is a good town to avoid if this is how the law works in such cases, because I would think that hitting a pedestrain while blowing through a stop sign while under the influence should be a pretty serious charge, I know in my dirty old town it certainly would be.

OR maybe the driver simply knows someone in power, hence the minor charge which we all know will be dropped, because I've seen that happen even out here

Heather C
Until society starts punishing the drivers, you can forget about pedestrians ever being safe in N.H.

Why <i>wasn't</i> the driver charged with felony assault?

According to the Connecticut penal code, "a person is guilty of assault in the second degree with a motor vehicle when, while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both, he causes serious physical injury to another person as a consequence of the effect of such liquor or drug."

Are we going to play the "oh this wasn't a serious injury" BS game again?

New Haven PD doesn't care about . As someone who has reported being hit by a car and giving the license plate number, my experience was that the response from NHPD to purposeful assault was egregiously casual and incompetent, not to mention callous and unempathetic.

With city officials like Doug and Mayor Elicker who say the right things about caring about active transportation and safety, it begs the question about whether the short-term situation is unfixable or if they are unwilling to make any waves to make a difference (immediately installing bollards and temporary barriers for bulbouts and lane reductions, putting down street paint, demanding traffic enforcement).

Even though this is somewhat tangential given that the New Haven Green is governed by a trust, not the city, the second park light on the corner near the intersection of College and Chapel has been broken since...2010 - since Occupy New Haven.

It is unsightly, unsafe and ugly, and I have contacted the city, the "Yale" (Ward One) alder and the Mayor every year since 2010.

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

All the Yale alders have done - four of them now - is email me to thank me for "starting a conversation about pedestrian safety."

The idea that over a decade goes by for a Yale alder-student to figure out how to fix a street light is beyond telling. It is still broken and poses safety risks for all bikers, pedestrians and residents. But the city is delighted that I initiated a conversation - last decade. This is what I mean that many city officials do nothing but pass emails from department to department and think this is constituency service.