fatal hit & run in Alexandria this morning - Braddock Rd & Commonwealth at 9am

[Anonymous]

PP: should read no one obeys the no turn on red signs.

[Anonymous]

Victim has been identified as Deborah Ann Bogart, 60, of Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously 10:54. Why was the jogger in the street? Turns out, joggers are allowed to use bike lanes .. or maybe there wasn't a sidewalk. Or *gasp* maybe, just maybe, she was in the street illegally. Still doesn't mean she deserved to be hit by a careless driver. (Yes, anyone who hits someone, doesn't even know they hit someone and takes off is careless). You are an asshole.

Hmm. But why was she jogging in the street? Was she crossing a road? Was she on a sidewalk that just ended? Was she simply jogging there because that was the only way she could get to a trail? Were there better alternative routes that she could have taken instead?

I think it's o.k. to learn from this. If this woman could do things over do you think that she would still choose to jog in the road there or would she choose a different route?

I am truly unfamiliar with that area. I do not know this jogger. But I am so sorry that this happened. What a nightmare for her, her family/friends and everyone who had to witness such an horrific accident.

[Anonymous]

It's truly awful what happened. I am also a runner, and I will not run along a road that does not have a sidewalk. I will not use bike lanes because I've seen too many people (cars) making a right turn across the bike lane and not pay attention if a bike is also in the lane and may be going straight. So horrible.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure if she had it to do all over again she'd choose not to die a horrific death.

Leave it alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure if she had it to do all over again she'd choose not to die a horrific death.

Leave it alone.

Yes, it's sad. I'm sorry this happened to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's truly awful what happened. I am also a runner, and I will not run along a road that does not have a sidewalk. I will not use bike lanes because I've seen too many people (cars) making a right turn across the bike lane and not pay attention if a bike is also in the lane and may be going straight. So horrible.

I am another run who avoids that area because the many of the shrubs are allowed to grow into half the sidewalks, the sidewalk becomes narrow and you are forced into the street.

The City of Alexandria really needs to fine people who let their shrubs over grow onto the street. I have called them before about areas on my current running path and they don't do anything. Maybe that's not what happened here but I often see pedestrians either walk in the road or on the very edge of the sidewalk along several major roads to avoid shrubs.

[Anonymous]

If you must jog in the street, always, always jog against the traffic. Never jog with the flow of traffic---much more dangerous!
This is standard cross country team practice.

[Anonymous]

I used to run there using the bike path all the time. It's a very popular stretch for running/biking. I did find it scary sometimes, because people would come barreling out of the side streets. But Ive also almost been hit crossing streets in the cross walk with a walk sign.

[Anonymous]

So she was hit in the middle of the block by a truck overcoming her from behind - not turning? That does not make a ton of sense. Why didn't the truck see her? It seems more likely given how people have described how narrow the sidewalk is there that the truck tried to pass her and clipped her and dragged her into the street.

I am sorry if this seems macabre but I think it is important to know exactly what happened so we can improve safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously 10:54. Why was the jogger in the street? Turns out, joggers are allowed to use bike lanes .. or maybe there wasn't a sidewalk. Or *gasp* maybe, just maybe, she was in the street illegally. Still doesn't mean she deserved to be hit by a careless driver. (Yes, anyone who hits someone, doesn't even know they hit someone and takes off is careless). You are an asshole.

Do you have a cite for that? My understanding is they are not allowed to use bike lanes. As a cyclist I do not get bent out of shape when they are in the bike lane (as long as they are going in the correct direction) but I am pretty sure that they do not have that right, in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bk-laws.asp

A bike lane is defined as that portion of a roadway designated by signs and/or pavement markings for the preferential use of bicycles, electric power-assisted bicycles, and mopeds.

[Anonymous]

There is no bike lane on that part of the street. It doesn't matter IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you must jog in the street, always, always jog against the traffic. Never jog with the flow of traffic---much more dangerous!
This is standard cross country team practice.

Do you think that's a universal experience? That's just standard safety rules.

[Anonymous]

Her death is a horrific accident. But why in the world was she running with the traffic, in the street, during rush hour?
This could have been prevented with some common sense.