Thorsen may be headed forward, but when we watched her
crossing Seventh Street in Saint Paul, her eyes were aimed directly at the cars
approaching from her right.
"I try to make eye contact, talk to them," she
said. Her goal, making sure drivers see
her when she's in the crosswalk. "I just have to trust them."
But Thorsen's trust is wearing thin.
An illness forced Thorsen to start using a wheelchair last
spring so this is brand new to her. She
contacted us, saying she's had many crosswalk close calls over the past six
months. So we went with her, watching
her cross street after street.
In less than two hours, we saw several examples of drivers
cutting through the crosswalk while Thorsen was still in it.
"It scares me!" Thorsen told us.
At one point, a large box truck accelerated, ducking just
behind her.
"Sometimes drivers think that I'm not going fast
enough," she said. She wants to
tell them, "Hey! You've got my life
in your hands! You're a lot heavier than
I am!"
"Whether that's a marked crosswalk or a corner or an
intersection, a pedestrian has the right of way," said Officer John
Keating of Saint Paul Police. In other
words, if there's a person anywhere in the crosswalk, drivers have to stay back.
"Being aware of your surroundings and certainly being
as visible as possible is certainly something pedestrians can do to keep
themselves safe," added Keating.
But even with an orange flag flying above her chair, we saw,
time after time, drivers skirting around Thorsen.
"That does create a safety hazard," said Keating.
It makes Thorsen angry.
"I wanna swear and I do swear at them."
Her patience is wearing thin. She hopes drivers will see
this story and give her and the thousands of others like her a little more
space.
"I can't just stay inside because I'm afraid of
somebody running me over."
Click here for crosswalk laws and safety tips from the
Minnesota Safety Council.
Click here for crosswalk laws and safety tips from the Minnesota Safety Council.
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