Posted on 08/14/2004 10:56:41 AM PDT by PinnedAndRecessed
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - A woman saved her baby by pushing the infant's stroller away from an oncoming car moments before she was hit and killed, police said. Amilia Vargas, 34, of Pasadena, and a second daughter were struck while crossing a street shortly before 6:30 p.m. Friday night, police said.
Vargas died of injuries at Huntington Memorial Hospital while her 7-year-old daughter Elizabeth remained in serious condition at the hospital. Her other daughter, 7-month-old Alexis Ramos, was unharmed.
Police said Amilia Vargas likely saved her baby's life.
"The mom saw it happening and it looks like she pushed the stroller ahead before impact," said police Lt. Eric Mills.
The vehicle's driver fled the scene, police said. Authorities later arrested Shannon Maria Williams, 33, a block away from the crash after she was spotted by a police helicopter. Her 1997 Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle was found in a nearby driveway.
Williams was arrested for investigation of felony hit and run and held on $50,000 bail.
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
My observation is that CA pedestrians almost challenge me to hit them. They are so aggressive that CA has got to have the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the nation.
That aside, this is absolutely heartbreaking, however, for all involved.
I feel like that when I'm driving through Oakland in Pittsburgh when during the school year. The college kids are just begging to be hit.
I know what you mean. They trust my brakes a lot more than I do.
If a Californian were to go to Florida and step off the curb into the path of a car the way they do here they'd be bouncing off the pavement.
Sure seems like Californians lead the nation in risky, death-defying behavior.
And if the crazies don't get you, the natural disasters will!
LOL. What a bunch of heartless people you are.
They do that here too ---- at the schools, they have the kids just stepping into traffic --- the students are told they have the right of way --- no one wants to "inhibit" their rights to tell them they should still stop, look both ways, and listen before crossing a street or that the car coming toward them could have a drunk or otherwise impaired driver.
I understand the Oakland rules. Just chill. You'll get where you are going.
I refer to the illegal immigrant population as street people, I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Here in Texas they're everywhere and they'll walk in front of you daring you to hit them. I think they take pride in getting in people's way...some sort of power trip.
Sounds like this happened in a residential area and if the Pathfinder was going the legal 25, it should have been able to both spot her and stop easy.
I have a Pathfinder and I could have avoided that accident easily.
The person who hit the people fled the scene and there is no way they did not know they made contact, so they were speeding I am sure.
I do agree people walking should watch where they are going also though.
Want to see a bunch of stupid people? Leave any church parking lot after a service and you will see the brain dead walking in front of all the cars.
Maybe the same behavior has migrated to Seattle. I see people here doing stuff that I wouldn't do on a bet, and I'm a hardened East coaster.
I also wonder if West coast drivers don't really expect to see pedestrians around in neighborhoods; as if everyone drives everywhere. I feel I have to practice defensive walking because these folks don't know what a pedestrian looks like.
Here the favorite trick is walking (and I do mean **walking**) across, say, eight lanes of interstate...not to mention that jaywalking is the local sport, especially in the districts where I suspect the vote leans more heavily demonrat.
So if a ped is walking across an interstate in CA, do you have to yield if you're in a vehicle?
Of course a lot of those people aren't very familiar with cars or roads --- back in some of those little villages where they came from everyone was a pedestrian.
We had big problems here with whole groups running across I-10 in morning traffic --- and "hispanic" activist groups were saying they needed to put stop lights on the interstate --- it wasn't fair to think illegals running over the border should know about our interstates.
It's true that two people were slaughtered (one of whom is still evidently hanging on by a hair).
But on the other hand, a driver didn't have to wait.
What's more important?
It's true that in this case the driver's been arrested, which can be viewed as counter-productive. But if you look at the big picture, you'll see that millions of drivers get home minutes sooner than they otherwise would... and they only have to kill a few thousand pedestrians a year to acheive that supremely important goal.
After all, if you get home a few minutes late, you might miss the start of your favorite TV show.
Can't have that.
Drive fast.
Mow down whatever's in your way.
That's the way to do it.
Speeding for nothing.
And death for free.
That's right on the "Homeless Migration Route" from downtown to Santa Monica....he was probably on his way over to the Whole Foods on San Vicente to set up his beggar's stand.
That is the truth. I am a student at CMU and moved here just last year - I can't believe pedestrians in this city...
Agressive pedestrians? Doing what? Crossing the street in crosswalks?
You do realize that you are required to yield to a pedestrian at all times if they are in the street?
When you hit one of them sometime and are brought up on charges, you too will discover that you are required to yield the right of way to pedestrians.
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