FeedsAccident may lead to ‘no tolerance’ enforcement
Another serious accident in front of the Westchester Towers has Wayne police pondering increased enforcement there.
A 58-year-old Wayne man suffered nearly fatal injuries when he was struck by a car while trying to cross the road there last week, according to Lt. Jason Wright of the Wayne Police Department. It’s the second serious accident that has taken place there during the last 6 months.
“We’re going to have a zero tolerance practice for people crossing the road there,” he said. “We’re going to have to start writing out a lot of tickets. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.”
The latest incident took place at about 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 12. The Wayne man lives in the subdivision behind the Westchester Towers and had tried to cross the road to go to the Kroger Store on the south side of Michigan Avenue. He stepped in front of a vehicle traveling east on the road, Wright said.
“It was a rainy night,” he said. “The driver couldn’t do anything to stop. The pedestrian just stepped out in front of her.”
Wayne rescue units were called to the scene. The man was transported to Annapolis Hospital in Wayne and later moved to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. Weather conditions prevented a Med-flight, though.
When police arrived on the scene, they began to investigate it as a fatal accident, Wright said.
“We treated it as a fatality,” he said. “Initially we thought he was going to pass away within the next 24 hours. He had some very serious injuries.”
His condition has since improved, but he is still in serious condition.
“He’s springing back a little, but slowly,” Wright said.
Wright said there was no indication that speed or alcohol contributed to the accident. No citations were issued, he said—the driver was someone who was simply passing through the city, obeying all the laws.
“It could have happened to any law-abiding driver,” he said. “There’s nothing anyone could have done.”
A similar incident took place last September when a woman was killed trying to cross at the location. That took place during the day and no charges were filed in that accident, either.
More frustrating for police—who spent nearly a week investigating the crash—is the accident took place about 50 yards from a streetlight and a crosswalk. Wright said people should be advised to use that, instead.
“A four-lane highway like Michigan Avenue, where cars are traveling at 40 or 45 mph is not a good road to cross—unless you’re at a light,” he said. “This all could’ve been prevented if they would’ve just crossed at Elizabeth and Michigan Avenue. There’s a crosswalk and a light. It’s safe to cross there.”
