Talk-radio caller hurt in SUV accident

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2285446 ^

[fishtank]

Talk-radio caller hurt in SUV accident Associated Press

MIDDLE ISLAND, N.Y. - A woman who was on her cell phone discussing the Michael Jackson case on a radio call-in show was hurt when her sport utility vehicle -- stopped on the side of the road -- was hit from behind.

Cheryl Picker was talking to WABC 770 morning show hosts Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby just before 9 a.m. Tuesday when the crash was heard on the radio. Kuby was heard saying, "Cheryl, are you OK? Cheryl? Cheryl?"

Picker, 44, was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in stable condition Tuesday. The hospital would not comment on her condition early today.

"I never call in to shows," Picker said.

She said she had stopped on the side of the William Floyd Parkway when her SUV was hit.

"There have been a lot of strange incidences in 12 years on the radio, but this takes the cake," Sliwa said. "The only thing that came close was two hours I spent on the air talking a jumper down from the George Washington Bridge."

[ChemistCat]

I don't think that's relevant. The fault is 100% with the driver who hit her. Her reason for pulling over has no bearing--she was stopped in a lane that is intended only for stopping, and he was driving (apparently really fast) in a lane not intended for that purpose.

[RightWhale]

Happens often enough that you come to expect it. Afterwards people are more careful for a few minutes.

[oyez]

Drivers of pickup trucks are better shots than SUV drivers may be another reason.

[weegee]

The Houston Comical believes this to be worthy national news I see.

[RS]

"I don't think that's relevant. The fault is 100% with the driver who hit her."

You are ABSOLUTELY Correct...

... and if your kid runs out into the street it's the driver who hits him's fault also.... but your kid still winds up in the hospital...

That's why we teach people to do things that keep everyone safe - and NOT to do things that would put yourself or others in danger, no matter who would be at fault.

... and why it's called a breakdown lane, not a parking zone ...

[weegee]

Curtis and Kuby prove the theory that opposites really DO attract. Curtis and Kuby in the Morning is now one of the top rated morning news/talk radio shows in the country. Curtis Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels and leans to the right is paired with Ron Kuby, the radical left wing attorney for 5 hours of right vs. left commentary on that days news and current events.

Curtis and Kuby first learned to dislike each other long before they were paired together at WABC. They were known to show up at street demonstrations and confront one another on opposite sides of police barricades. "When I first threw them together I figured if they could last one hour in the studio without killing each other, we might have the potential for a great radio show," said WABC Program Director Phil Boyce. "It was in November of 1996 that I got the idea to pair them together on Monday nights, and we called the show the Monday Night Fights." That first show, which Ron really did not want to do, ended up becoming a regular show on WABC which later moved to Saturday morning and then to Monday thru Friday at 6pm.

It took several years for Curtis and Kuby to perfect the show and get it ready to move into the highly competitive Morning Drive slot on WABC. They took over mornings in May, 2000 and almost immediately doubled the ratings on WABC's morning show. Today, the show is a high energy dose of the days news, plus expert commentary on what is behind it. While Curtis and Kuby rarely agree on anything, they have developed a warn and engaging style that respects the others opinions. The rapport and chemistry between the two has kept the show entertaining, even during some of the most difficult news cycles.

A bold spirit with a lust for life and amazing energy, Curtis Sliwa is a New Yorker in the truest and best sense of the word. Born and raised in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, Curtis recognized early on the advantages of growing up in a close knit community. World renowned as the founder and leader of the Guardian Angels, a non-profit, all volunteer crime fighting organization with 40 chapters throughout the United States and 7 countries overseas, Curtis Sliwa’s scope is vast and intensive. His worldwide connections keep him aware of major breaking news stories across the globe and steps ahead of most journalists. However, Sliwa’s passion for the “city that never sleeps” remains a constant fixation. He is featured frequently as a guest lecturer at colleges and universities and makes regular appearances on TV news-oriented programs.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1956, Ron Kuby was expelled from junior high school for publishing an underground newspaper. Kuby graduated from Cornell Law School third in his class, magna cum laude, in 1983. After college, legendary civil rights lawyer Bill Kuntsler asked Kuby to join his firm. Kuby’s eventual partnership with Kuntsler helped establish the young lawyer as a powerful, high profile attorney. Kuby continues to practice law today, although his radio show has taken over most of his public life.

Curtis and Kuby were nominated in 2003 by Radio and Records magazine as top talk show hosts of the year for their work on WABC.

[petercooper]

The guy who hit her was on the phone talking to Howard Stern.

[weegee]

Talk Radio in the title is also a tip off. Why not just say, woman parked at side of road hit by fast moving driver?

Oh yeah, she was on a cell phone in an SUV calling a talk radio show. That makes it nationally "news worthy".

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Jackie Robinson

First name that came to my mind, too.

I heard it live on the Howie Carr show and in replay several times. Jackie is a BCM (Black Conservatie Man) and a total character. Something of a pleasant charlatan imho.

[weegee]

That's why whey call it a breakdown lane... isn't it ? ... for people who have broken down, not on the phone about Michael Jackson ( unless she was having a breakdown over Michael )

Doesn't matter if she is calling her husband to tell him to turn the stove off, if she is pulling over because she is choking, or because she dropped a cup of coffee in her lap. She did the right thing in pulling over.

The driver who hit her might have been passing.. but he might have broken down...

.. or out of gas, or swerved over to stop from running into a car ahead who hit the breaks, or paniced when the check engine light came on, or spilled coffee in his lap....

When any of those things happen, he should not be driving and none are an excuse to DRIVE in the breakdown lane. If your car is having troubles STOP! Going another 250 feet before it breaks down isn't going to help and could damage your car. Even if you are having a heartattack should you REALLY be the one driving???

[weegee]

Most rear end collisions will be blamed in the report on the driver in back. After all if you hit someone who stops abruptly (or was already stopped) then you were following too close (tailgating), not paying attention, or speeding.

[weegee]

If you think that is harsh look at post #38.

[al_c]

Can't say "car" because it's not. Can't say "truck" for the same reason. Maybe it's just a little easier to type "SUV" instead of "vehicle."

[LurkedLongEnough]

Yes, and big hair.

[LurkedLongEnough]

I'm sure there's a moral in this story somewhere, but I haven't figured it out yet

I think it's here: "I never call in to shows," Picker said.

Mainstream Media Moral of the story:
Never call in to evil talk radio shows, especially if you are thoughtless enough to drive an environmentally damaging and dangerous-to-others SUV. Bad things will definitely happen to you, even if it's your first time.

[RS]

"When any of those things happen, he should not be driving and none are an excuse to DRIVE in the breakdown lane. "

Just where does it say he was DRIVING in the breakdown lane and not attempting to stop because of an emergency ( like his brakes givng out, or sliding on the ice )?


"Doesn't matter if she is calling her husband to tell him to turn the stove off, if she is pulling over because she is choking, or because she dropped a cup of coffee in her lap"... or BECAUSE SHE IS GABBING ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON...

( I thought I would just add it in to bring us back to the FACTS as we know them - I'm sure you don't mind )

[MHT]

How come there is so much attention given to accidents involving SUV's but a great number of the fatal accidents on major highways involve big transit trucks, usually speeding? Wish the SUV lobby would hire the guys the trucking lobby uses.

[Ditter]

Is that her vehicle in post 22? No wonder she was hurt, that little POS is no protection at all. If she had been in a Suburban or Tahoe she would have been fine.

[looscnnn]

The government recommends that you pull off the road to talk on a cell phone. Don't know what the law is in Cali, but she was doing what she was supposed to do.

[looscnnn]

I mean N.Y. not Cali, sorry.