An 82-year-old man was taken to the hospital this morning after he was hit by a sports utility vehicle while crossing a busy street in downtown Ringgold.
But police say George Rhinehart was in the wrong because he tried to cross in the middle of the road, and he could face misdemeanor charges.
When Rhinehart was putting out flag poles, he walked out on Nashville Street in front of the Ringgold Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership. A Toyota 4Runner driven by a young female driver became distracted by a tractor-trailer delivering cars, said police Capt. Greg Wingo. Her name was not released since she is a juvenile.
When authorities arrived, Rhinehart complained of pain in his ribs and arm and was transported to Memorial Hospital for non-life threatening wounds, Wingo said.
Joy Lukachick is a crime reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Since 2009, she's covered breaking news, high-profile trials, stories of lost lives and of regained hope and done investigative work. Raised near the Bayou, Joy’s hometown is along the outskirts of Baton Rouge, La. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Joy was a staff writer for the Daily Reveille. When Joy isn't chasing down ...
I thought pedestrians always have the right of way. I understand it's jaywalking, but to charge the poor guy of a a misdemeanor? Wow.
Distracted driving... wow, how about distracted living.
Link to story - http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/20...
Turns out, it's dangerous to be stupid... no matter what your doing.
Believe it or not, the iPhone does not have an app that protects the user from being hit by a car in a parking lot.
Pedestrians have a duty to be careful too. The charge may be valid.
That won't stop him from suing the girl for hitting him.
GA law states a vehicle must stop and stay stopped when encountering a pedestrian until clear. So even if this is so, they could still charge him with a misdemeanor? hmmmm....
I guess the juvenile would have been in trouble if she had been distracted by texting, but since she was looking at cars being delivered, it's the old man's fault.
Sounds like she was paying attention to a potential for an accident (the tractor trailer) and hit the pedestrian. Pedestrian do NOT always have the right of way. You have to stop for pedestrians in cross walks. He was walking where he was not supposed to be so he is at fault. If you are hit by a wrong way driver are you at fault because you were distracted?
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