Dashcam owner claims the Kent County Sherrif’s Vehicle hit the pedestrian.
Michgander and Redditor /u/Martin72095 shared concerning dashcam footage from earlier yesterday (Aug 8, 2024) from Grand Rapids to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a driver in a Kent County Sherrif’s Vehicle failing to yield to a pedestrian in a big way.
Check out the dashcam footage below.
The incident happened near the intersection of 28th St SE and this I-96 off-ramp. (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam footage shows, /u/Martin72095 follows a Kent County Sherrif’s SUV off of I-96.
A pedestrian can be seen entering the crosswalk and is nearly halfway across before the driver in the Sherrif’s vehicle gets to the crosswalk.
Instead of stopping and yielding to the pedestrian, it looks like the driver in the Sherrif’s vehicle decides to gun it to beat the pedestrian before the pedestrian has a chance to get in front of the Sherrif’s vehicle.
At the same time, the pedestrian starts to jog to beat the Sheriff’s vehicle.
It looks like no one was hurt or seriously injured.
We see them exchange a few words before the pedestrian crosses in front of the Sheriff’s vehicle and to the other side of the crosswalk.
“I got that on my dashcam. I got it on my dashcam!,” OP shouts.
OP claims the driver in the Sherriff’s vehicle hit the pedestrian although I can’t confirm that from what I see on his dashcam video.
“If the sheriff was the cammer, that driver would have been charged with something,” /u/standarddeviated_joe commented.
“He went from walking to running at the same time the driver would be making the decision to go. The driver likely thought they could go before the walking pedestrian got to the SUV,” /u/UnidentifiedTron commented.
“I think that would’ve thrown anyone off, especially if you’re saying the area rarely has pedestrians. That’s the only thing I can come up with as to why they missed him.”
“That said, the pedestrian was already in the crosswalk and the driver should’ve completely stopped and allowed them to cross. Total idiot driver.”
Like most, if not all US States, Michigan has pedestrian laws that give the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks. (MCL 257.39, MCL 257.30)
According to Michigan Pedestrian Laws,
“Drivers are required to yield the right of way (to pedestrians in crosswalks) in all instances to avoid a crash.”
Violating the above is a civil infraction subject to a fine of at least $128.
Did the driver have their emergency overhead lights on and siren going? That could make a big difference in court.