Posted on 08/24/2007 9:06:29 PM PDT by paltz
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Oscar-nominated director John Singleton was driving a Lexus SUV when it struck and killed a jaywalker who stepped in front of the car, police said Friday.
Singleton, 39, immediately stopped his car and waited for police to arrive after the accident Thursday night in the city's Jefferson Park neighborhood, said Officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman.
"Mr. Singleton stopped and identified himself as required by law and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Lee said. "He was questioned and released."
The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead Friday morning, Lee said. She was identified as Constance Russell, 57, of Los Angeles.
Other details were not immediately released, and an after-hours call to Singleton's agent was not immediately returned.
Singleton, whose debut film, 1991's "Boyz N The Hood," earned him two Oscar nominations, has also directed "Poetic Justice,""Shaft," and "2 Fast 2 Furious." He was the producer of "Hustle & Flow,""Black Snake Moan" and the just-released "Illegal Tender."
Sounds like an accident, but that has got to be depressing to kill someone, even if it was not your fault.
Sounds like he did the right things. But, as you say,he will be feeling the effects of this for awhile. Bet he will be driving slower and not talking on his cell phone.
reminds me of a discussion I once had about Railroad engineers. Apparently in training they have a class or seminar or something where aspiring RR engineers are basically told — at some point you’re going to kill some idiot who runs through a crossing when the crossing guards are down/lights flashing so you better be able to deal with it.
Wow! Someone who did the right thing.
He wasn’t drunk, he wasn’t drugged, he didn’t flee, he didn’t lie.
I’m impressed. You don’t see that kind of character often.
Maybe - however, what a refreshing change to see a Hollywood type NOT pull a hit-and-run.
thank God he did the right thing and stopped.....
Condolences to the dead lady’s family for their loss........and my heart goes out to Mr. Singleton. What a burden to carry, even though it was quite evidently not his fault.
A terrible accident.
He even looks like a good man.....this is a strange story.
My brother was hit by a car when he was six...back in 1959. It was dusk and he just ran out in the road and the guy hit him. My brother spent a month in the hospital, and another two months at home healing.
It was no fault of the guy that hit him, but the guy was devastated, and ended up committing suicide a few years after. So sad.
May the victim RIP.
That is so sad.My wife was hit by a car when she was a little girl living in calif. The driver sped off and was never found.
Glad to hear she made it okay.
Thing is...it illustrates how your life can change in one second. You can be on top of the world, driving down the road, doing the speed limit when you look for a second at your watch, or...sneeze, and a poor kid runs in front of your car.
Ya gotta appreciate what you have, when you have it.
Didn’t see the cell phone statement. Must be tired.
Jefferson Park is a really run down part of LA.
I was driving in a run down part of New Orleans recently and was really disturbed by the amount of jaywalking going near the highways. People would walk or ride bikes right in front of oncoming traffic. At first I thought it was just people being careless - but it happened so often I came to think people were doing it no purpose as a game of chicken. I wonder is something similar happened here?
Merely symbolic of the way we allow ourselves to be distracted. Of course, in this case, it might have been the woman who was distracted. We all tend not to pay enough to the business at hand. If you are going to jaywalk, better watch the traffic.
An accident is getting hit by a meteor or having a deer run out in front of you. This appears to be caused by the pedestrians negligence, a mistake that cost her her life. Fact is, if she jaywalked in front of the police, and was never struck by a vehicle, she could have been cited.
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