Accident this morning at GW crossing

[Tim Kelley]

My guess is that the beige car in the back rear ended the truck in the front since there was no visible damage to the white Mercedes and the trucks bumper was just about the right height. Everyone seemed to be up and out of their vehicles on their phones. No other pedestrians or people on bikes seemed to be hanging around.

[Raymo853]

@Tim Kelley 122345 wrote:

My guess is that the beige car in the back rear ended the truck in the front since there was no visible damage to the white Mercedes and the trucks bumper was just about the right height. Everyone seemed to be up and out of their vehicles on their phones. No other pedestrians or people on bikes seemed to be hanging around.

A sound interpretation. Wondering if the F150 or Mercedes was stopped or slowing for a pedestrian or bicycle rider.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I would encourage cyclist/ped witnesses on scene to hang around for a bit and give a statement to the police in cases like this. At the very least, you can help clarify that the person in front was hit while complying with the law (if indeed that was the case), while the other drivers were negligent. Given that DC and VA have pure contributory negligence laws, such a statement might help ensure that the driver that stopped doesn’t get partial blame and the accompanying ding from their insurance. If a driver gets hit while stopping for peds/cyclists, I figure we can pay it forward and try and help them properly assign blame.

Once when I was on my motorcycle I saw a car hit a pedestrian in the crosswalk at the other GWMP crossing. The car in one lane had stopped, so the ped started crossing, but the car in the other lane did not stop and hit the pedestrian. I called 911 and gave the police a statement…I was then contacted by the victim’s insurance company (based on my statement to the police) and was able to provide them a statement laying the blame completely on the driver that didn’t stop. I don’t know if it helped, but I hope that it at least provided some impetus for the insurance company to fully cover the victim’s injuries (or seek compensation from the driver’s insurance).

[ShawnoftheDread]

You’re right, of course, but I’m not sure I’d ever volunteer to interact with the park police. I’d probably end up with a ticket for not walking my bike in the crosswalk and blame for the accident.

[mstone]

@ShawnoftheDread 122351 wrote:

You’re right, of course, but I’m not sure I’d ever volunteer to interact with the park police. I’d probably end up with a ticket for not walking my bike in the crosswalk and blame for the accident.

Yes, IIRC these were the guys who were at one point ticketing motorists for stopping at the crosswalk. IIRC, they also refuse to put any kind of stop signal at crosswalks because they do not want cars to stop. The rightness of this policy is demonstrated in the very incident, in which the guy speeding in the back (as one does) had no choice but to run into the car in front of him, causing severe property damage. (NPS is firmly against property damage.) Ideally, pedestrians will just scurry across during a gap in traffic, without any driver having to slow down, ever. That said, if said pedestrians scurry anywhere other than a marked crosswalk they are bad, bad people that should be rounded up and ticketed en mass.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ShawnoftheDread 122351 wrote:

You’re right, of course, but I’m not sure I’d ever volunteer to interact with the park police. I’d probably end up with a ticket for not walking my bike in the crosswalk and blame for the accident.

It was Arlington PD that responded, IIRC. Arlington FD provided the medical response.

[Terpfan]

@ShawnoftheDread 122351 wrote:

You’re right, of course, but I’m not sure I’d ever volunteer to interact with the park police. I’d probably end up with a ticket for not walking my bike in the crosswalk and blame for the accident.

I remember last summer where they asked several of us riding by to stop and help push a vehicle off the roadway right by the 14th St bridge. That was a new one to me.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

I’m with SotD. If you want to give an eyewitness account, make sure to stash your bike in some bushes, ditch your helmet and explain the wardrobe by saying you were out for a run or a walk.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

The damage to the front end of that back car is noteworthy. What speed do you think he was going at impact for that to happen? Speed limit is 25 mph.

[Kitty]

@Brendan von Buckingham 122422 wrote:

I’m with SotD. If you want to give an eyewitness account, make sure to stash your bike in some bushes, ditch your helmet and explain the wardrobe by saying you were out for a run or a walk.

That’s a shame. For a moment there I was inspired to be helpful in case I saw anything while riding in the future…

[Raymo853]

@Brendan von Buckingham 122423 wrote:

The damage to the front end of that back car is noteworthy. What speed do you think he was going at impact for that to happen? Speed limit is 25 mph.

I disagree the damage is noteworthy. If it did hit the truck, the bummer heights would probably not match especially if it was experiencing brake dive. To crumple up a hood like that and a bit of front clip squishing would not take much speed at all, like an impact at 15 would do that.

[elbows]

FWIW, at my most recent GW accident involvement which was crossing in front of a car which had stopped for me and that car got nailed from behind by someone moving quickly – in fact there might have even been 3 cars involved. It was very similar to the accident I posted and at the same location. I sat around and waited for the park police to show up (which was fine because I was shaking pretty badly anyway) just to give my statement. The park police were not friendly but they didn’t try to blame me and were not unprofessional.

[Kitty]

@elbows 122454 wrote:

The park police were not friendly but they didn’t try to blame me and were not unprofessional.

That’s good to know! In a situation like that where you’re tangentially involved, it would probably be best to stick around.

[PotomacCyclist]

Unfortunately, this is why I rarely ride over there. The rerouted trail and intersection made one of the road crossings a little safer, but NPS still needs to redesign that entire area. I really dislike riding through there, so I don’t except on rare occasions. I always take the 14th St/George Mason Bridge instead.

[Author]

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