[QatzelOk]

Early afternoon today on Jeanne Mance and Maisonneuve

As I was pedaling on the downtown bike path today, I witnessed a car slamming against two pedestrians right in front of me. I had my camera on me, so I snapped a few shots, being careful not to include anyone involved or the license plate number.

That's when I decided to create a car accident log for anyone who wants to post personal experiences either in a car accident or as a witness to one. If you have photos, that can make your story even juicier.

What happened today was that a young couple were crossing the street as their light was changing to green. A car coming up a slight hill accelerated to make it through the last seconds of the yellow, and smashed into them as if he hadn't seen them.

I was biking and getting ready to stop for the red when I heard the noise of flesh and bones being whacked by metal, and then looked in horror as a woman was being cut in half by the hood of old burgundy Caprice. It looked like her body was being broken at the waist with a baseball bat.



Her staggering boyfriend managed to drag both of them to the sidewalk out of traffic. The killer-car stopped, and the silent and worried driver got out, and then came over and waited patiently until the ambulance and police got there, along with other witnesses, including myself. He look scared, and didn't venture too close to the two people he had mowed down.

It was like witnessing a death (your own death, if you were on a bike or a pedestrian), and then having the corpse come back to life for a few minutes, until the ambulance strapped her into a spinal trauma stretcher and took her and her boyfriend to the hospital to be treated for... not being made of metal?

I hope they're alright. But every accident I see like this reminds me that cars are too violent to allow to plow through streets filled with anything other than other machines that weigh a thousand kilos. Cars and people don't mix.

What was really eerie about the whole thing was how quickly things returned to normal. Even as everyone waited for the ambulance to pick up these broken people, pedestrians and drivers continued to race by without even noticing that anything had even happened. These two people would have to face their misery alone and with no one to record their suffering.

[Eauz]

Yeh, I notice this with walk zones that have lights to indicate that someone is crossing. I always stand there to make sure I won't have an issue with a car running me over. This morning, I pushed the button and the car was far away from me, but didn't stop. Just kept going through, while the rest of the cars were waiting. I think it is time to implement a camera system to catch the licence plates of those who decide it is necessary to speed through pedestrial zones. In regard to the traffic lights, once the green light changes, a camera should start recording any traffic attempting to move through.

It's unfortunate that such crimes against pedestrians occur. It is also unfortunate that due to the fact that things like this occur, people begin to worry if the streets are safe to walk and decide to buy a car.

[QatzelOk]

A friend of mine came to volleyball this week, but he had to first sit down and tell me about his car accident.

He was making a right-turn around a car parked on a corner, and another car was coming in the same lane in the opposite direction. They both swerved to avoid a head-on collision, so my friend (Bill) ended up getting side-swiped.

The other car didn't even turn around. He just sped off with no exchange of information. My friend Bill was feeling a bit tired, and depressed, and thinks he may have been damaged somewhere inside himself.

Maybe we all have been.