A bus driver has been cited for failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk following an accident at Five Corners Monday morning in Vineyard Haven, according to Tisbury Police.
At about 5:30 am, video shows, a VTA bus turning from Beach Street to Water Street struck a person, launching the individual several feet across the asphalt.
The bus driver’s name is Jordan Maldonado Alvares, according to Tisbury Police. Tisbury Police Lt. Bill Brigham said the pedestrian was taken away by ambulance. The Times was later able to identify the pedestrian struck as Skip Bailey. Bailey, who is from Vineyard Haven, is well known at the Agricultural Fair as a vintage tractor enthusiast. Except to say her husband was injured, and hopefully on track to mend, Bailey’s wife Carol declined comment, pending consultation with a lawyer.
Lt. Brigham said there may have been mitigating circumstances to what occurred. He said the driver told police he had eyes on another pedestrian across Five Corners who was looking at his phone and that it was while the driver was keeping track of that individual that the pedestrian was struck.
A video on gomv.com, which has a webcam fixed on the intersection, shows an individual crossing Beach Road toward Martha’s Bike Rental & Sales with what appeared to be a cell phone in hand. After the bus struck the pedestrian, that person hurried back across the street toward the injured person.
VTA administrator Angie Gompert told The Times in a brief email that she was still learning about the incident. Gompert wrote that the driver was “shaken up”; however, his concern and the VTA’s concern “is for the pedestrian he accidentally struck while crossing the street.”
I can’t find the video.
Just the live feed.
Go to the feed.
There’s a timestamp in the lower left corner.
Drag the video progress slider back to around 5:33 am.
Video isn’t clear; Blurry lens. I can’t see the guy until he goes flying.
I went through that intersection right after it happened on way to boat. It was so dark and from what I could see, everyone was wearing dark clothes. That intersection needs to have LOADS of lighting.
Traffic lights?
Yes, I agree. That intersection needs much more and better lighting! Why haven’t those flashing lights at the crosswalk been installed down there instead of up at the Net Result crosswalk which gets much less pedestrian traffic? I hope this person recovers 100%.
How many more people have to be hit before the town improves the lighting and crosswalks at this intersection? An added protection would be lights that flash when someone is crossing. I hope the person is ok.
Should Five Corners have a full set of traffic lights with flashing strobe lights for when people want to walk across the road?
My husband worked for the VTA as a driver for a few years and I can’t tell you how many times he said people were careless about just thoughtlessly walking out in front of the bus. He had a number of close calls. I was very relieved the day he stopped driving for the VTA! I hope the “powers that be” will consider how difficult it is to watch all the foot traffic, the lack of lighting and so on. I hope the pedestrian is OK, but I’m sure the driver is a nervous wreck!
I often see people just walk into the crosswalk without looking.
Don’t know if this was the case— It’s not like the woman who got hit a while ago, where she was fully in the crosswalk and a driver was distracted while eating popcorn and accelerated into her. But I am amazed that more people are not hit. I often see people walking at night, dressed in dark colors with their backs to traffic. They seem to trust their lives with the idea that every driver is paying attention and not blinded by high beams from oncoming traffic, the sun or any other condition that may be present. I am not aware of all the facts concerning this incident, but clearly the pedestrian was assuming the bus driver would see them.
Mamma always said, the best way to not get run over by a bus was to look before you cross the street.
My sympathies to both the pedestrian and the bus driver.
I am sorry to hear of a pedestrian being hit.
I always carry a flashlight when I walk on Beach Road at night. I flash it toward drivers when I am waiting at a crosswalk, to help them notice me.
All night-time walkers should do the same.
Flashlights are cheap. Take responsibility for your safety.
We don’t need more awful LED lights there, IMHO.
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