A man in a wheelchair was struck by a car on Lee Highway in Cherrydale last night.
The accident happened around 9:40 p.m., as a political debate was letting out at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department. The man’s injuries were not reported to be serious or life-threatening.
The following was sent to members of the Cherrydale neighborhood listserv early this morning.
Right after the debate, around 9:40 PM a disabled neighbor from the Cherrydale Rehabilitation Center was struck while wheeling across Lee hwy. He was conscious and not bleeding when we arrived.
Of note, it was dark, raining, 2 street lights were out (on either corner between the hardware store and Safeway), the victim was wearing dark clothes, in a dark red wheelchair, and he was crossing where there was no cross walk, i.e. from the NW backside of Safeway crossing to Oakland, which works out a little diagonal. He was struck by a car heading west. It does not appear she was speeding.
I believe [REDACTED] and others have complained to the County that this is not a safe crossing area.
It is simply human to take the shortest distance whenever possible. The victim was heading home from 7/11. He could have crossed at the official cross walk by the firestation but that’s a long light. So it seems to me we need to recognize the human need to travel the shortest distance. Put in another crosswalk. Keep it well lighted. Probably other good ideas are out there as well.
I put in a call to Shannon Flanagan Watson at the County Manager’s office. I’m sure she’ll get back to us shortly and I’ll keep you posted.
Our own Cherrydale Vol Fire Dept volunteers were first on the scene. Cherrydale Rehab employees were very supportive. I’ll keep you all posted on how he is doing.