A 79-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina woman was hit by a car and seriously injured as she attempted to cross Falls of Neuse Road in north Raleigh, according to city police. The pedestrian accident occurred between Carlos and North Bend drives, just before 7 am., when the accident victim, Florence Jean McMahon, tried to cross at a place where there was no crosswalk provided.
At first a vehicle slowed to let McMahon cross, but another car driven by Salieu Njie of Raleigh had changed lanes to pass the stopped vehicle and in the process ended up hitting McMahon. It is clear that Njie must have not seen McMahon. Although he was only traveling 35mph, Njie did not have adequate time to react when the Raleigh pedestrian accident occurred.
According to the police report, McMahan was taken to WakeMed directly after the accident. She had been listed in stable condition. Also, it is noted that McMahon lives in the Heritage of Raleigh retirement community near the site of the accident. As of this writing no charges have been filed. For a brief period, Falls of Neuse was temporarily reduced to two lanes while the accident was tended to. So far, no comment has been made by Heritage of Raleigh retirement community as to why Mrs. McMahan was allowed to wonder off into traffic on such a busy road?
Pedestrian accidents with seniors both occur more often and usually have a more serious injury as the outcome for obvious reasons. Drivers should always be aware of potential blind-spots on the road where a child or senior may be hidden. If a car has stopped in front of you unexpectedly, take a brief moment to look around to see what may be going on before passing. Mr Niji is certainly lucky that he did not kill Mrs Mcahan, but he certainly is at fault for sending her to the hospital. The importance of pedestrian street crossing laws should not be overlooked. This elderly woman recently struck wasn’t at a crosswalk, but that doesn’t give the driver a an excuse to be irresponsible.
As with all serious injury cases, it is especially crucial to seek out professional legal advice in car accident injury cases and we have the experienced injury attorneys to evaluate your claim. Our firm is ready to assist you in reviewing your specific situation to see if your claim meets our criteria. In North Carolina, as well as every other state, there are laws on how long you have to file a suit also. Don’t hesitate, call our toll free number and get confidential legal advice.