The pedestrian life can be dangerous...
At approximately 6:10 on the evening of January 17, 2007, I was "bumped" by a white Ford Explorer at the intersection of 12th Street and Independence Avenue, SE. The walk signal was flashing and I had 28 seconds to cross the street. It is a six lane intersection and I have often seen turning cars pay little heed to pedestrians so I always look before I cross. I cleared three lanes of traffic, then heard a car accelerating to my right. I turned and found myself looking into the eyes of a middle-aged man slamming on his brakes. He bumped my right thigh and I stumbled around a bit, but did not fall down. I really was not injured at all, but I was pretty shaken up. That was scary!! A woman crossing the street behind me yelled at the man to stop and she checked to see that I was OK. I kept walking, mostly because I was fine and just stunned. It was also cold and raining. I was only a few steps away from David's parked car at USDA and just wanted to get to him. The driver did stop, though he seemed to do so reluctantly. He claimed to not have seen me. It was dark, but I was wearing a long, red coat! I said to him several times that two women were killed in DC last year by a bus driver doing the same thing he just did -- turning without looking for pedestrians. He apologized and drove off. I took down his license tag number just in case I really was hurt. Really I'd like to send him my dry cleaning bill because my coat bears the evidence of the contact made with his SUV. My leg was sore for the rest of the night, but I woke up this morning feeling fine. My guardian angels were looking out for me last night! Let this be a lesson to those of us who cross busy city streets every day -- don't get distracted by iPods, cell phones, or Blackberries and always watch for turning cars because they are not watching for you!
