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Jeep hits pedestrian at 12th St., Camino

Woman, dog suffer minor injuries

A Durango woman and her dog suffered injuries, apparently minor, when they were hit Friday morning while crossing Camino del Rio at the pedestrian crosswalk at 12th Street.

Stacy Falk of Durango and her dog, Puddin, were crossing at about 9:30 a.m. in the middle of the crossing signal sequence. A black Jeep Wrangler driven by 19-year-old Juliette Ambler slammed into Falk, said Lt. Ray Shupe, spokesman for the Durango Police Department.

“I flew a pretty good amount,” said Falk, who was hit on the right thigh and hip. She had a leash on Puddin, a pitbull, who apparently went under the car. “When I was flying, I was pulling her.”

Durango Fire Protection District was quickly on the scene, with a crew from its nearby River City Hall station. Durango Police also responded.

Falk, 30, was able to walk away, limping a bit on her right leg. Falk and her friend Asa Robbins loaded Puddin into a vehicle and took the dog to a local veterinarian. Puddin was walking gingerly, favoring a front paw. The dog also had some road rash, Falk said in a short interview at the scene.

Shupe said the 2015 Wrangler, heading northbound in the left-hand lane, had stopped for the crossing signal. When the signal went from solid red to flashing red, a vehicle in front of the Wrangler went through, and the Wrangler followed without stopping as it should have, Shupe said.

The Wrangler was going an estimated 5 to 10 mph when it hit Falk, who was heading east, Shupe said. Ambler was cited for failure to obey a traffic control signal and failure to provide evidence of insurance. She will be required to appear in municipal court.

The accident occurred at what the Colorado Department of Transportation calls the HAWK (High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk) signal, where pedestrians trigger a red light in order to cross safely. The light first flashes yellow (a warning to vehicles to prepare to stop), goes solid yellow (the stop signal is imminent), goes solid red (mandatory stop), then flashes red (stop and proceed when clear) before going off.

Falk said other pedestrians were walking in both directions in the intersection at the time she began across. Falk assumed it was OK to cross, seeing the other pedestrians and noting there were still 15 seconds on the timer when she started through.

Falk said one truck took off through the crossing area, and then the Jeep Wrangler followed, not noticing Falk. Falk said she tried to dodge the Jeep but couldn’t and took the impact in her right quadriceps.

Robbins said he also uses the crosswalk regularly.

“It’s not so great,” he said. “Our fear is people just don’t stop.”

Ambler, obviously shaken by the incident, stayed around the accident scene and offered apologies to Falk.

A look at Herald archives turned up no specific injury-related accidents at the 12th and Camino crosswalk, which was installed in 2011. However, several accidents have been documented at a similar crossing a few blocks south at Seventh Street and Camino, also installed in 2011. A pedestrian and cyclist have been hit, and at least one car has been rear-ended while stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross.

johnp@durangoherald.com

Aug 16, 2014
Run for your life


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