5yo hit and killed in Brookland last night

[Anonymous]

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People are angry with the driver for things he did not do.

Of course we are. He did not drive his vehicle in a safe manner and that lead to the death of a 5 year old girl.

According to the police, you are wrong.

the police aren’t the final fact finders.

Actually they are. They were able to release a quick, definitive statement because vehicles of that order have dash cams. The child rushed into an intersection after the vehicle, which had come to a complete stop, was already in motion.

Ask the parent if they were monitoring the child appropriately or texting on their phone at the time. I'm sure their phone records would be illuminating.

Based on how quickly the definitive statement about the driver having come to a complete stop was issued, I had wondered about dash cam and/or other video.

Eye with see statements are notoriously inaccurate. It’s good that there is video.

sure. and even if the driver came to a complete stop, that does not absolve him of fault. you’re supposed to make sure nobody is in the crosswalk.

There wasn't anyone in the crosswalk when the car accelerated into motion. The kid was on a bike which increased its velocity to speeds it wouldn't have been able to obtain on its own feet. On top of that - no one has mentioned that area of 14th Street is at the crest of elevation marking the difference between downtown and the upper neighborhoods. It's a slow-rising hill you easily see when you're riding North from downtown. Which would have made the bike faster.

But he didn’t see her approaching the crosswalk?

Why would he have? I don't know if you've been in D.C. neighborhoods but the crosswalks are blocked in on all sides by rows of cars and tree-lined streets.

Street parking, throughout D.C., is prolific. The 5 year old on the bike would have been below the line of sight of most drivers. Hell, I can walk past an SUV and it blocks me as an adult.

Can you see anything in-between these cars and those shrubs? No. But there's a sidewalk there.

[Anonymous]

Should be bracketed not blocked. Those I have drivers inch their giant vehicles right in the crosswalk at the light too.

[Anonymous]

It is such an American thing to make sure that someone is always to blame for everything. Accidents happen. Some here blame the driver but you could also blame the parent for not making sure their child was within their reach and/or able to adequately control the bike, but as parents we know that we are imperfect and so are other people and accidents sometimes tragically happen. It feels a lot better and safer if we can point a finger but sometimes there is no one to blame but fate or circumstance.