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Pedestrian Accident Kills Los Angeles Resident
April 23, 2008

Authorities are looking for a suspected yellow school bus that was involved in a hit and run pedestrian accident in the Westlake District that killed a Los Angeles resident

The bus accident occurred at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue at 8:30 am on Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Officers said. The victim was a 31-year-old woman who has been now identified as Vicky Noh. She reportedly died at the scene of the bus accident.

There seems to be nothing to suggest that Vicky broke any traffic safety laws or was jaywalking. She was walking at a marked crosswalk. In fact, from all counts the bus driver seems to have been at fault, as he fled the bus accident scene. Witnesses have described him as a Latino male. The bus did not have any passengers, and was most probably a charter bus that schools regularly use for field trips. It was a new model, witnesses say.

Los Angeles Police have asked Southern California residents help from locals to trace the renegade bus and driver. There's still no information about Vicky's family situation.

From all accounts Vicky was exercising her rights as a pedestrian at the time of the accident. She was walking in a marked crosswalk. Even if she were walking in an unmarked crosswalk, she would still have the right of way, and other vehicles would have to yield to her. Sadly, pedestrians are becoming increasingly threatened in California. The sunny weather makes for more pedestrians. Unfortunately drivers in California still haven't been as educated as they need to about the rights of pedestrians on the road. More education would definitely help decrease the numbers of pedestrian accidents that we seem to be seeing.

A while back, a study tried to make a connection between demographics and pedestrian accidents. Subjects were drawn from various races, and were measures on their responses to photographs that show typical road behavior. It was found that many people still don't have as much information about pedestrian rights as they ought to. Subjects were not able to identify aggressive driving where pedestrians were concerned.

This is all due to the halfhearted education programs that are conducted for the benefit of drivers. Very little mention is made about the importance of pedestrians, and their rights on the roads. If you peruse common traffic safety literature, there's very little attempt to make a connection between aggressive driving and pedestrians. No wonder then that there are so many pedestrian accidents taking place, and so many of them fatal accidents.

The public needs to be educated about aggressive driving, and how it affects pedestrians too. When we talk of sharing the roads, we talk about sharing them with larger vehicles, bicyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. Leaving pedestrians out of the equation is what is causing this rash of fatal car accidents.

We hope the authorities will take steps to tackle this problem, before we have to report on more Vicky Nohs meeting tragic deaths.

If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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