UPDATED with IDs of victim and driver.
By Shawntaye Hopkins
shopkins@herald-leader.com
A pedestrian crossing South Broadway near Red Mile during a rainstorm Wednesday morning died after he was struck by a Jeep, Lexington police say.
(David Stephenson | Staff) Lexington police technician David Bochenek, left, and Sgt. Paul Simms, right, investigated the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian on South Broadway at Gibson Avenue in Lexington Wednesday.
Authorities identified the man Wednesday afternoon as Eugene Childress, 74, after notifying family and next of kin.
Childress was struck while walking across South Broadway toward Rally’s restaurant about 7 a.m. He was not within a painted crosswalk, Lexington police Sgt. Paul Simms said.
Police say the driver, Shannon Hibbetts, of Georgetown, had the right-of-way, and charges are not expected against her. She was not injured.
“He was in a place that most people wouldn’t expect to see a pedestrian,” Simms said.
Hibbetts, who was headed to work at Saint Joseph Hospital, was traveling south on South Broadway, Simms said.
She told police she didn’t see the man until it was too late, and she stepped on her brakes immediately, Simms said. The Jeep stopped near American Avenue.
The wreck smashed the front of the Jeep. Childress was hit on his left side and had several injuries, including a broken leg and severe chest and head injuries, Simms said.
Hibbetts returned to the scene of the wreck as Lexington police’s Collision Reconstruction Unit worked a few hours after the accident.
The jeep was later towed by Bluegrass Towing Service.
Simms said it does not appear that speed or alcohol were factors in the crash. Hibbetts agreed to a blood test, but results will likely not be available for weeks. Simms said the rainy weather, and darkness, were probably significant factors.
Lexington police believe the she was traveling at, or below, the posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour, and the traffic light was green.
“Right now, we just don’t see any criminal culpability unless some things change down the road,” Simms said.
The speed limit in that area is not 45 MPH. I think it\’s 35.
Why interject your opinion if you aren’t sure what the speed limit is?
Drive down South Broadway, find out for yourself & then post an intelligent, informed comment. FYI, the speed limit is posted 40 mph between Pyke and Gibson on the west side of Broadway.
It seems folks don’t care about accuracy anymore; just throwing their two cents worth in with complete disregard.
Thank you for your demonstration.
So are you the blog police? get over yourself.
Yea, that was a little heavy handed. Really not picking the right battles; so I agree. I’m over it and I hope we can move on. This is a sad story and not the appropriate place for social commentary and for that I am sorry.
what an argument between..please show compassion for the mans family
This underscores a simple truth: Lexington is not safe for pedestrians. I myself was struck by a car yesterday in a crosswalk on North Broadway in front of Transylvania University. Thank God, my accident didn’t turn out as serious as this one. But, something needs to be done to make Lexington safer for pedestrians. These two accidents prove the fact.
JKS, crossing in a non-crossing zone is dangerous for anyone in any town.
If you were crossing in the large crosswalk at Transy, that’s a serious danger zone, even when the police are sitting there monitoring it. Drivers are impatient in that area, and pedestrians generally seem to care less about how slowly they walk across, or when. It’s too bad they can’t develop either a walk-over or walk-under right there.
I’ve almost been struck in the same place. It doesn’t matter how someone walks across the 15 foot or so painted crosswalk. We still have the right of way. There are flashing lights and yes, frequently police. We have disabled students that either have crutches or wheelchairs. Would you want them to “hustle” across there too?
The main problem with people in Lexington is that they get in too much of a hurry. This isn’t a huge city and couldn’t take you more than 30 minutes to get anywhere you wanted to get to at any time of day (save Nicholasville Road, disaster).
I’m saying that Lexington needs to take measures to increase safety for its pedestrians. The driver who hit me was from out of town, and, apparently, did not notice that there was, in fact, a crosswalk there. So, I think that Lexington should make its crosswalks more visible, through the use of more flashing lights, signs, etc. This could serve a double-purpose in alerting pedestrians to locations where it is relatively “safe” to cross the street.
Also, one should note that some crosswalks, like the one at Transy, are inherently faulty, with the handicap-access ramps placed away from the main flow of pedestrian traffic. This puts those who use these ramps “out in the open” compared to other pedestrians, hence increasing the chances of ramp-users being hit.
We should not forget about the earlier accident on Harrodsburg road (which is also S. Broadway), in front of the Home Depot. Earlier in the week another pedestrian was also hit and severely injured while crossing that road. I saw it on WKYT.com, but never heard more than that he was in critical condition that evening. Nobody can expect vehicles to stop in Lexington, so people should stop jumping out in front of them and drivers should be more attentive and expect the unexpected.
What’s really sad is that Rally’s is not even open for breakfast.
Did anyone pay attention to the fact that it was completely dark, it was raining, and someone was crossing the road in a non-marked cross-walk in front of a jeep. Don’t get me wrong, I feel nothing but sympathy for this man and his family. But let us not forget this woman who just happened to be driving down this particular road at the particular time, doing nothing wrong, on her way to work also has to live with this the rest of her life. It could have happened to anyone. Let us not judge so easily.
No, I agree, in the case of Mr. Childress, it seems that it would have been extremely difficult (if not impossible) for the driver to have avoided the accident and I don’t think she ought to be blamed.
What I’m advocating is some measures (some of which are listed above) to make Lexington safer for pedestrians.
I resent it being insinuated that I was careless in crossing the road. I realize that it is in my best interest to excercise caution. It was not as if I wished to be hit that morning. I don’t advocate placing full blame on the drivers, either. We need to stop this finger-pointing and work together toward a feasible solution.
Thank you “anyone paying attention”. You seem to be the only one that has a heart. Personally knowing the driver - it is more about her struggles for the rest of her life with this unfortunate accident, the family that has lost a loved one - and less about the opinions on crosswalks.
We love and support you, Shannon.