Officers hit by car recovering

Officers hit by car recovering
Investigators seeking to ask questions of driver
BY JENNIFER BAKER | Saturday, February 10, 2007

DEERFIELD TWP. - A trooper and deputy hit by a car late Thursday
during a routine traffic crash investigation are expected to recover,
officials said Friday.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon J. Williams, 30, of the
Lebanon post suffered a broken right leg, concussion and cuts to his
head, said Lt. Anthony Lauer of the patrol.

He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, and was in fair
condition Friday.

Warren County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Barger, 30, was treated and
released for minor injuries at Bethesda North Hospital. He suffered a
broken index finger on his right hand.

"It could have been a lot worse," Lauer said. "We were a little
concerned there for a while when it first initially happened. But
broken bones can be fixed."

The men were hit about 9:30 p.m. as they investigated a car crash that
had occurred earlier in the southbound left lane of the 9300 block of
Mason-Montgomery Road at Natorp Boulevard, he said.

A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.

Martin's car hit both men around the same time, sending Williams into
the air.

He fell onto the driver's-side windshield and shattered it before
flying onto the ground head-first, Lauer said.

Patrol investigators hoped to interview the driver and Williams on
Friday, but the driver has told them she wants to consult a lawyer
first.

Charges have not been filed and drugs and alcohol are not a factor in
the crash, he said.

"We have a bunch of questions for the driver," he said. "Trooper
Williams may not remember what happened. He took a pretty good hit to
the back of the head when he went up in the air and hit the pavement
head-first."

It is not clear yet if the southbound lanes were blocked off, if the
light at the intersection was green or red or how fast she was going,
he said.

The northbound lanes were blocked. The cars involved in the first
accident were pulled over in the northbound lanes, he said.

There is no video of the incident from cruiser cameras, officials
said.

The deputy's cruiser was pointed in the wrong direction and the
trooper's car was blocked by a fire truck, they said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that 139 police officers
died in the line of duty - including 82 in accidents while on duty -
during 2004, the last year for which statistics are available.

Sidebar- Recent crashes

A few recent examples of traffic crashes that hurt police include:

Jan. 24: Two Cincinnati police officers were injured when a car struck
the back of their parked police van on William Howard Taft Road at
Highland Avenue. Capt. Gene Hamann and Sgt. William Suter were
standing in front of the van when the car hit it. Both officers were
taken to University Hospital. Hamann, 57, suffered serious injuries,
while Suter was treated and released, police said.

Nov. 8: Two Cincinnati police officers were hurt when their parked
cruiser was hit on the Western Hills Viaduct, authorities said. The
cruiser was hit in the rear by a vehicle operated by Clifton Black,
53, of Newport, police said. Officers Michael Reynolds and Eric Kohler
were treated and released at University Hospital. Black was cited for
drunk driving and driving with no headlights, police said.

Nov. 6: An Alexandria police officer shot at a suspect as the suspect
tried to hit him with his vehicle, officials said. The suspect then
led police on a chase that started in Cold Spring, wound through
Alexandria and ended with what police say was a stolen black sport
utility vehicle in a pond in Bracken County. The driver rammed into a
Highland Heights cruiser, moving it several feet and hitting Highland
Heights Detective Robert Thomas, police said.
Staff writer Janice Morse contributed | Copyright 2007, Enquirer.com
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...427/1056/COL02
-----

- gpsman

gpsman wrote:

> A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
> Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.

Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.

Graham

Eeyore wrote:
>
> gpsman wrote:
>
>
>>A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
>>Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
>
>
> Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
>
> Graham
>

It would cause another whole kind of crash over here; people are used to
four way stops, they aren't used at all to roundabouts, traffic circles,
whaddayacallems. I was probably 25 years old before I ever saw one!
Now I know the right way to navigate one, but it's obvious that a lot of
people don't, including the people who design them and put stop lights
inside the circle etc...

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

Nate Nagel wrote:

> Eeyore wrote:
> > gpsman wrote:
> >
> >>A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
> >>Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
> >
> >
> > Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
> >
> > Graham
>
> It would cause another whole kind of crash over here; people are used to
> four way stops,

Are Americans incapable of learning anything ?


> they aren't used at all to roundabouts, traffic circles, whaddayacallems.

Roundabouts have nothing in common with traffic circles.


> I was probably 25 years old before I ever saw one!
> Now I know the right way to navigate one, but it's obvious that a lot of
> people don't, including the people who design them and put stop lights
> inside the circle etc...

Are Americans incapable of learning anything ?

" A roundabout or rotary is a type of road junction (or traffic calming device)
at which traffic streams around a central island, after first yielding (giving
way) to the circulating traffic. In the United States it is technically called a
"modern roundabout", to emphasize the distinction from the older, larger type of
traffic circle. Roundabouts are statistically safer than both traffic circles
and traditional intersections "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout

Graham

Eeyore wrote:
>
> Nate Nagel wrote:
>
>
>>Eeyore wrote:
>>
>>>gpsman wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
>>>>Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
>>>
>>>
>>>Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
>>>
>>>Graham
>>
>>It would cause another whole kind of crash over here; people are used to
>>four way stops,
>
>
> Are Americans incapable of learning anything ?
>
>
>
>>they aren't used at all to roundabouts, traffic circles, whaddayacallems.
>
>
> Roundabouts have nothing in common with traffic circles.
>
>
>
>>I was probably 25 years old before I ever saw one!
>>Now I know the right way to navigate one, but it's obvious that a lot of
>>people don't, including the people who design them and put stop lights
>>inside the circle etc...
>
>
> Are Americans incapable of learning anything ?
>
> " A roundabout or rotary is a type of road junction (or traffic calming device)
> at which traffic streams around a central island, after first yielding (giving
> way) to the circulating traffic. In the United States it is technically called a
> "modern roundabout", to emphasize the distinction from the older, larger type of
> traffic circle. Roundabouts are statistically safer than both traffic circles
> and traditional intersections "
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout
>
> Graham
>

Most of 'em are too lazy to bother, although they're probably capable.
Probably comes of our habit of not citing drivers for any infractions
other than speed or possibly plowing into a busload of nuns, but the
last is iffy. The only people that bother to learn anything about
driving are those who have a genuine interest in driving and/or cars,
and tend to be the kind of guys who end up racing at SCCA events and
posting to RAD (i.e. not your typical citizen.)

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

"Scott en Aztlán" wrote:

> Eeyore > said in
> rec.autos.driving:
>
> >> A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
> >> Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
> >
> >Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
>
> Hardly. A roundabout might change the nature of the collision
> slightly, but these inattentive, irresponsible teenagers would still
> find a way to collide.

You simply can't drive straight through a roundabout.

Graham

Eeyore wrote:
>
> gpsman wrote:
>
>
>>A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
>>Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
>
>
> Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
>

So would requiring people to be competent drivers before getting behind
the wheel.

> Graham
>

Nate Nagel wrote:
> Eeyore wrote:
>
>>
>> gpsman wrote:
>>
>>
>>> A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
>>> Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
>>
>>
>>
>> Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
>>
>> Graham
>>
>
> It would cause another whole kind of crash over here; people are used to
> four way stops, they aren't used at all to roundabouts, traffic circles,
> whaddayacallems. I was probably 25 years old before I ever saw one!

So? FWIW, I was navigating one quite regularly within a couple years of
getting my driver's license. And this was in the US. It's quite
simple, really.

If people can't figure out how to navigate them, then perhaps they
shouldn't be given licenses in the first place.


> Now
> I know the right way to navigate one, but it's obvious that a lot of
> people don't, including the people who design them and put stop lights
> inside the circle etc...
>
> nate
>

Eeyore wrote:
>

>
> Are Americans incapable of learning anything ?
>

Don't worry - not all of us are as brain-impaired as you are.

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout
>

<sarcasm>

Great - another informative cite from wikipedia.

</sarcasm>

> Graham
>

Scott en Aztlán wrote:
> Eeyore > said in
> rec.autos.driving:
>
>
>>>>>A southbound 2002 Hyundai Accent driven by Darcy E. Martin, 18, of
>>>>>Loveland, went through the intersection and hit them, he said.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Roundabouts would stop this kind of thing.
>>>
>>>It would cause another whole kind of crash over here; people are used to
>>>four way stops,
>>
>>Are Americans incapable of learning anything ?
>
>
> Sad to say, it appears that we are turning out an entire new
> generation who are. Underfunded schools,

Underfunded? Hardly. For years, school administrators have been
demanding that we throw money at the problem and people are more than
happy to accomodate them.

> social promotion, and
> affluent, mollycoddling parents are all combinbing to produce a
> generation of kids who can't think their way out of a wet paper bag
> and who are too lazy to try. These kids have minimum-wage service jobs
> (if they have a job at all), live at home with mommy and daddy, and
> are going to community college since they either couldn't get into a
> 4-year school or they squeaked in but quickly flunked out. The people
> I bought my current house fron had TWO sons like this. I bet everyone
> reading this post knows someone in this situation.
>
> Remember the old days when cash registers only told you the total
> sale, and the cashier had to make change by doing the subtraction in
> his head? Nowadays the typical cashier can't be counted on to make
> change accurately, so now they make cash registers that tell these
> dummies how much change to give.