Houston Police Chief hits pedestrian with city vehicle

[bizarrenormality]

Watching the video, it looks like he speeds up before plowing into the lawyer.

[rbwhatever1]

I posted from my phone earlier and had not seen the video until now. That was a pretty visible incident area. I wonder if the Chief was texting since he clearly was not watching his direction of turn. I also see that the cross traffic light was red in the pedestrians area so that little walking dude light must have been flashing telling the Law Abiding Non Jay Walking Civilians that it was safe to cross NOW PEOPLE GO NOW PEOPLE HURRY UP FLASH FLASH FLASH BEEP BEEP BEEP. Unless of course, the Chief of Police is in the vicinity eating a Sloppy Joe or texting a take out order...to bad that guy that got creamed wasn't the Mayor...

3 people ran to help and 3 people walked on by like nothing happened.

[puma guy]

Cha-Ching! No immunity from civil suit for the city or Chief since it involves a vehicle. Probably negligence, too. I am not litigious by nature, but a one day suspension for the Chief is ridiculous and the city deserves to be punished severely. Maybe he was texting the Mayor. I can only imagine what I would be facing for running down a pedestrian.

[EEllis]

Cha-Ching! No immunity from civil suit for the city or Chief since it involves a vehicle. Probably negligence, too. I am not litigious by nature, but a one day suspension for the Chief is ridiculous and the city deserves to be punished severely. Maybe he was texting the Mayor. I can only imagine what I would be facing for running down a pedestrian.

You would have slightly hire insurance bill next month and that is it. Generally speaking you wouldn't even be cited for anything but being at fault for the accident.

[Dave2]

City of Houston's liability is capped at $250,000.

Why is that?

[puma guy]

Cha-Ching! No immunity from civil suit for the city or Chief since it involves a vehicle. Probably negligence, too. I am not litigious by nature, but a one day suspension for the Chief is ridiculous and the city deserves to be punished severely. Maybe he was texting the Mayor. I can only imagine what I would be facing for running down a pedestrian.

You would have slightly hire insurance bill next month and that is it. Generally speaking you wouldn't even be cited for anything but being at fault for the accident.

Yeah, I should have been more clear. Beside the citation aspect I was thinking about the civil action the guy would bring against me.

[EEllis]

Yeah, I should have been more clear. Beside the citation aspect I was thinking about the civil action the guy would bring against me.

In all but the rarest cases you wouldn't be sued for any more than your insurance will cover regardless of how much damage is done. Unless you are a multimillionaire or some sort of celebrity. The lawyers who work these cases know it's a slam dunk up to the limit and rarely bother with going after personal assets.

[srothstein]

I also see that the cross traffic light was red in the pedestrians area so that little walking dude light must have been flashing telling the Law Abiding Non Jay Walking Civilians that it was safe to cross NOW PEOPLE GO NOW PEOPLE HURRY UP FLASH FLASH FLASH BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Actually, per the Transportation Code section 552.002, that flashing dude means you cannot enter the intersection. You can only start across while it is the steady burning white walking dude or the sign says "WALK". Don't Walk (steady red walking dude or red hand) and Wait (flashing red dude or hand) means do not enter the intersection. If there are no pedestrian signs, you can only enter while the light is green, not yellow.

I was not aware that these laws were this strict until there was a crackdown on pedestrian violators in Austin. After the article ran, the APD spokesman had the paper print a correction pointing this out. It is interesting to me, because the laws on entering the intersection are stricter for pedestrians than for cars.

[jbirds1210]

I was not aware that these laws were this strict until there was a crackdown on pedestrian violators in Austin. After the article ran, the APD spokesman had the paper print a correction pointing this out. It is interesting to me, because the laws on entering the intersection are stricter for pedestrians than for cars.

Do you still have a copy or link to the article? Thanks.

Jason

[srothstein]

No, I don't. But the code sections are 552.001 and 552.002 of the Transportation Code. A pedestrian may not enter during a yellow light or wait signal.

[philip964]

City of Houston's liability is capped at $250,000.

Why is that?

As some one pointed out I was wrong, Sovereign Immunity for the City is waived for automobile accidents.