Injured good Samaritan ticketed

[Sara_Paris 0]

DENVER – A good Samaritan who pushed three people out of the path of a pickup before he was struck and injured has been ticketed for jaywalking. Family members say 58-year-old Jim Moffett and another man were helping two elderly women cross a busy Denver street in a snowstorm when he was hit Friday night.

 

Moffett suffered bleeding in the brain, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and a possible ruptured spleen. He remained hospitalized Wednesday in serious but stable condition.

 

The Colorado State Patrol issued the citation. Trooper Ryan Sullivan told the Rocky Mountain News that despite Moffett's intentions, jaywalking caused the accident.

 

The other good Samaritan was also cited for jaywalking. The pickup driver was cited with careless driving causing injury.

 

Sullivan says the two elderly women haven't been cited but the investigation is ongoing.

 

"It's a horrible tragedy," he said.

 

Sullivan said Moffett and the others weren't in a crosswalk, but said he didn't know why the bus stop was in an area without one.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

No good deed goes unpunished, apparently.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Disgusting.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I'd like to know a little more - were they helping the little old ladies cross the street in a crosswalk with the right of way?

 

Or were they helping the ladies jaywalk - ie cross in a place where motorists had no expectation they'd be there? and thus increasing hte likelihood of an accident?

 

I know, it's so easy not to take jaywalking seriously, but jaywalkers do cause accidents.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

I'd like to know a little more - were they helping the little old ladies cross the street in a crosswalk with the right of way?

 

Or were they helping the ladies jaywalk - ie cross in a place where motorists had no expectation they'd be there? and thus increasing hte likelihood of an accident?

 

I know, it's so easy not to take jaywalking seriously, but jaywalkers do cause accidents.

 

 

What I get from the article is that the guy wasn't helping them do anything except live. He rushed out and pushed them out of the way.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

What I get from the article is that the guy wasn't helping them do anything except live. He rushed out and pushed them out of the way.

 

No, he and a passenger got out to help the two ladies cross the street - but it doesn't give very much detail on this.

[Wishfire 2]

Got out of what? The only vehicle mentioned in the article is the pickup truck that hit one of them.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

They got off the bus.

 

 

From the Rocky Mountain News.

He may have saved three lives, but RTD bus driver Jim Moffett got a jaywalking ticket anyway, along with broken bones.

 

Moffett, 58, was driving an RTD bus south on Federal Boulevard at 62nd Avenue at 9 p.m. Friday, the State Patrol said.

 

Two elderly women exited the bus and tried to walk across Federal to their trailer home on the east side, Moffett's stepson Ken McDonald said Tuesday.

 

"With that light snowstorm, my stepdad didn't think they could cross the street safely," McDonald said. "So he got off the bus with another passenger, and they helped the ladies cross."

 

The four people had made it about halfway across Federal, and most of the northbound traffic had slowed to let them go the rest of the way, McDonald said.

 

"But one pickup driver got impatient and passed in the left- hand turn lane," McDonald said. "He plowed right into my stepdad - but not before (my stepdad) pushed the old ladies and the other guy out of the way."

 

Moffett is at St. Anthony Central Medical Center with bleeding in the brain, broken bones in his face, a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist and possible ruptured spleen and liver.

 

Eddie Moore, the passenger who helped Moffett assist the women, also was cited for jaywalking. The pickup driver, Steven C. David, was cited for careless driving causing injury.

 

The jaywalking citation should be dismissed and crosswalks should be installed, McDonald said. Ryan Sullivan, of the State Patrol, said that while Moffett's "intentions were good," jaywalking caused the accident.

Edited March 1, 2009 by Theunicornhunter