Forget about being a good samaritan

[SPJ]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090226/...ritan_ticketed

Injured good Samaritan ticketed for jaywalking

Thu Feb 26, 7:34 am ET

DENVER – A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket.

Family members said 58-year-old bus driver 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 was in serious but stable condition Wednesday.

The Colorado State Patrol issued the citation. Trooper Ryan Sullivan said that despite Moffett's intentions, jaywalking contributed to the accident.

Moffett had been driving his bus when the two women got off. In the interest of safety, he got out and, together with another passenger, helped the ladies cross.

Moffett's stepson, Ken McDonald, said the driver of the pickup plowed into his stepfather, but not before Moffett pushed the two women out of the way.

When he awoke in intensive care, he learned of the ticket. "His reaction was dazed and confused. I was a little angry," said McDonald.

The other man also was cited for jaywalking, while the pickup driver was cited with careless driving that led to injury. Sullivan said the two elderly women haven't been cited but the investigation is ongoing.

[Spaniard]

I read this story this morning, what an absolutely rediculous thing to do on the Police's part. Didn't they have some real crime to fight, I mean did they break out the citation pad before or after this guy was rushed to the hospital? What a joke...

[katiadarling]

No kidding, huh? I just read about that in the local newspaper. Sometime I have to wonder what police officers are thinking.

[lindsey crashed]

thats bs... you would think they would give him a break...

my brother was in a really had car accident five years ago because he was driving intoxicated... they were wil-co cops and they even said he had been through enough and let him go...

(williamson county cops are aweful and rutheless... everyone around here hates them!)

[2kdime]

That's messed up!

[ARamos8]

No comment. I'll keep my profanity to myself.

[m00kfu]

I'm generally the last person to stick up for the police, but just because you get injured while breaking the law doesn't mean you should avoid any consequences. The fact that they were jaywalking in the middle of a snowstorm is probably the reason they got hit in the first place. Had they been crossing at a light I'd be willing to bet that pickup wouldn't have hit them. Can't fix stupid I guess.

[frankykeno]

Well I'll play devil's advocate here too...

These two gentlemen took two elderly women, in a snowstorm with all that means about lowered visibility and the inability of vehicles to stop quickly, and hauled them into traffic. Not took them to a crosswalk or they wouldn't have gotten jaywalking charges. One man was hurt and I'm sorry for that but those older ladies might well have been killed.

I ride the city bus a lot. Not every bus stop is convenient to a safe street crossing. I have seen drivers break the rules to pull the bus up closer to a crossing so their passengers could cross safely in poor weather. I have seen drivers give verbal warning to passengers about being careful crossing when conditions are not great.

To say "forget about being a good samaritan" is just wrong in my opinion. You should always try but not in ways that aren't smart. One of the first things I was taught when I took first responder training years ago and had to learn to crawl into car wrecks and such like was, you do NO good for your victim if you end up hurt and being another victim yourself.

[katiadarling]

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009...d-good-samari/

State Patrol is relooking at the case and may reverse their decision to issue a ticket for jaywalking. Personally, I'm partially upset that the bus driver got ticketed for jaywalking because the driver was cited for careless driving. We get a fair amount of snow here and I'm not saying you should just waltz out into the street, but it's necessary to go slow when it's snowing anyway.

[Bruce Whitehead]

Not knowing all the nuances of this incident, sorry, if you contribute to an accident, no matter how much you get hurt, you are responsible.

For endangering yourself, and for endangering others... and yeah, for breaking the law that is there to protect you and protect others from getting hurt.

I was driving and someone lead another person into the path of my vehicle... I would be more than a bit upset.

Bruce