PEDESTRIAN HIT BY CAR IN INTERSECTION – MN POLICE DON’T PROSECUTE
The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an important story yesterday. It was about the lack of criminal penalties when a car runs over someone in an intersection. Sadly, even if the pedestrian is killed in the intersection, the driver is often not even given a traffic ticket. (Unless they were intoxicated or fled from the scene.) Our car accident lawyers see this too frequently.
The article correctly points out that MN state law requires that drivers with room to stop must yield to a pedestrian attempting to cross an intersection. This is required regardless of whether there is a painted crosswalk. Also, the driver must exercise due care to avoid hitting a walker crossing elsewhere. There were 95 pedestrians killed after being hit by a car in the Twin Cities metro over a five-year period. That was out of 3069 car versus pedestrian crashes.
In all of those accidents, only 28 drivers were charged and convicted of a crime. When the driver is charged, it is for speeding or careless driving. In most cases, the sentence is for community service, fines, or probation.
LAWS TO PROTECT PEDESTRIAN FROM BEING HIT BY CAR
Minnesota has recently strengthened the law by requiring drivers to stop and investigate after any collision. Also, a 2015 law makes it a gross misdemeanor (rather than misdemeanor) if someone drives recklessly and causes great bodily harm. However, the greater penalty does not apply to merely careless driving that causes great bodily harm. Of course, reckless driving is harder to prove. Our car accident lawyers believe that harsher penalties for failing to stop for a pedestrian would make drivers more careful.
According to the article, there was about 2100 total pedestrian hit by car accidents in Minneapolis and St. Paul between 2010 and 2014. In addition, there were another 969 pedestrian accidents in the suburbs during that time. However, the speed limits are often higher on the roads in the suburbs, so the injuries are usually more severe.
LAWYER FOR PEDESTRIAN HIT BY CAR
Our auto accident attorneys have represented many people in MN run over by a car in an intersection, or the families of pedestrians killed in a car accident. If you are a victim of this type of accident in Minnesota, please call us and speak with an attorney for a free consultation. Our lawyers will explain your rights and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to. Even if the police let the driver get away with it, our lawyers won’t.