DUI suspect drives with pedestrian on car’s hood
An alleged drunken driver hit a pedestrian and drove with the dying man on her car’s hood for more than two miles in Torrance before witnesses stopped her, authorities said .
Sherri Wilkins, 51, was arrested late Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence and manslaughter, said Torrance police Sgt. Robert Watt.
Phillip Moreno was crossing Torrance Boulevard near Madrid Avenue when he was hit shortly after 11 p.m. Wilkins drove approximately 2.3 miles with the 31-year-old man on the hood of the car, until fellow motorists persuaded her to stop near Crenshaw Boulevard and 182nd Street, according to a police statement.
She told investigators she knew she had struck someone but kept driving “because she was panicking,” Watt said.
Moreno, of Torrance, was alive when officers arrived, Watt said. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police found his shoes and shorts at the scene of the collision.
“He was knocked out of his clothes,” Watt said.
Investigators are asking witnesses who saw the collision to contact police.
Right of Way
- Pedestrians always have the right of way. So, no matter where you encounter a pedestrian on the road, they always have the right of way. This includes crosswalks, round-a-bouts, at intersections not marked with signals and at street corners. Crosswalks are sometimes defined by white lines or flashing lights. Crosswalks are outlined in yellow near schools.
California Pedestrian Law
“Under California Vehicle Code Section 21950 (a) The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(b) This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
(c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian.
(d) Subdivision (b) does not relieve a driver of a vehicle from the duty of exercising due care for the safety of any pedestrian within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.”
Pedestrian Accident Statistics
Source: California Highway Patrol Statewide Integrated Traffic Report
Pedestrians need to be especially cautious on our roadways because they are more vulnerable to injury or death. There were two pedestrians killed and two injured in car accidents in Twentynine Palms in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol Statewide Integrated Traffic Report. In San Bernardino County 39 pedestrians died and 440 were injured in 2009.
In California, there were 598 pedestrians killed and 12,418 injured in 2009, according to the CHP traffic report.
National data compiled by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Authority shows that pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the United States were up 4.9% in 2010 to 4,280 deaths and injuries were up 19% in 2010 to 70,000 people injured.
