Posted on Jul 30, 2013

In order to prevent unnecessary pedestrian accidents, it is important that drivers yield to pedestrians. Unfortunately, some drivers in the state of Iowa failed to do that this month.

On the afternoon of Thursday, July 18, an Atlantic woman was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Highway 71 and Highway 6. As 34-year-old Jennifer Kay Lower attempted to cross, she was struck by a car before being taken to Cass County Hospital in Atlantic and then flown via medical helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center.

In Bettendorf, a 37-year-old man was airlifted to University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City after sustaining head injuries in an accident on the night of Saturday, July 20. The man, whose name wasn’t released, was initially transported to Genesis Medical Center before he was flown by a Med-Force helicopter to University Hospitals. Police reported that he wasn’t in a marked crosswalk and the incident is under investigation.

On Tuesday, July 23, in Iowa City, a city bus collided with a bicyclist crossing Clinton Street, one of Iowa City’s most heavily traveled streets in the middle of the afternoon. Thankfully, no serious injuries were sustained and the bicyclist was able to ride her bike away from the incident. Still, it’s important that everyone driving on the road watches for cyclists as well as pedestrians.

Although that incident was the first city-bus related accident in over five years, Iowa City has had issues with the University of Iowa’s campus buses.

In September 2011, a campus bus collided with UI student Rebecca Segriff as she crossed the intersection of Madison and Washington Streets, inflicting serious injuries. Segriff is currently suing the university, the state of Iowa and the driver, Peter Leahy. She claims that Leahy failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to control the bus and didn’t yield to her right of way as a pedestrian.

Recently, another incident occurred in May 2013 when a 66-year-old man was struck at the intersection of Clinton and Jefferson Streets. The driver, Audrey Kelly, did not yield the right of way to the pedestrian at the crosswalk. As such, the driver should have stopped and let the pedestrian cross. Fortunately, the man’s injuries were not life threatening.

All of these incidents further illustrate the importance of yielding to pedestrians. Every corner should be treated as a crosswalk whether or not there is a sign or white lines on the road. The personal injury law firm of Hupy and Abraham is distributing FREE “I Yield To Pedestrians” bumper stickers to raise pedestrian awareness and save lives.

Jill Erin Wellskopf
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Director of Marketing, Hupy and Abraham