ORONO, Maine — A University of Maine student was hit by a vehicle attempting to turn onto Allen Road from College Avenue Tuesday night, but avoided serious injury.
Xiao Li, 20, was crossing the road just as a 2001 Chevy Cavalier driven by Jessy Armstrong was making a turn from College Avenue onto Allen Road. The Cavalier hit Li with its bumper, but wasn’t going fast enough to seriously injure him, according to Orono police Officer David Silk.
Li suffered a scrape on the face and some bruising and was transported by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, but Silk reported that he seemed fine while at the hospital. No damage was done to the vehicle and Armstrong was unhurt.
“It was dark, the driver didn’t see him crossing, and Li was wearing a black sweatshirt and black pants,” Silk said. “It was a pure accident. Luckily no one was seriously hurt.”
Orono Fire Department also responded to the call.
So glad it wasn’t more serious!
The university doesn’t exactly encourage the obeying of pedestrian laws. But boy oh boy, you sure know the rules when it comes to tobacco on campus.
I’m very glad Mr. Li will be okay, but UMO really needs to focus more on pedestrian laws.
People need to slow down and pay attention.
Correct. And people need to pay attention to traffic in the road that they want to cross.
Pedestrian right of way. I always drive like there are people on the side of the road when I am on campus. Its a walking campus, you should expect people to be out. Never once had even a close run in.
I have spoken with the police on campus and they said that the campuses “pedestrian right of way” does not supersede Maine State Law, which states:
6. Pedestrian prohibitions. A pedestrian may not:
A. Cross between adjacent intersections at which traffic-control devices operate, except in a marked crosswalk; B. Cross an intersection diagonally, unless authorized by official traffic-control devices; or C. Suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close that it is impossible for the operator to yield http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec2056.html
People should treat the roads on campus as just that-roads with huge machines moving on them that might kill them. They should ALWAYS pay attention to the road and never assume that cars are going to stop.
There are not lights on campus, and if he didn’t sudden jolt into the road then this is all on the driver. People need to slow down and Pay attention, I have never once,ever came close to hitting someone. Ever. Why? because I am a defensive driver. When I am near campus I always drive like there are people around and can walk out into the road. Boom, never close to an accident.
That’s great, but that doesn’t remove the responsibility from the pedestrians. And we have all seen bone-headed college students driving like maniacs on campus, too.
Not on campus!
What do you mean? Not what on campus?
This did not occur on campus so your point meant nothing.
My point is that the campus doesn’t encourage following the law. The kids are not trained to pay attention to traffic on campus so it wouldn’t be surprising if they don’t elsewhere (and I have seen them not follow the law elsewhere in Orono).
You shouldn’t need to be trained. If you do think they do then they should not be in college!
Really? Isn’t college where they learn most of their life skills? In fact, college should be where they are untrained to step out in front of traffic. We see that all the time everywhere in the state. But regardless of what you say, the fact is kids and adults do step out in the street in front of cars regardless of how close the car is to the person and regardless of the presence of a crosswalk. Some of them even cross at a crosswalk against the light. The culture at UMO and in this state is that people should be able to just walk across the street anywhere and that is not only illegal, but very dangerous.
Funny alcohol is ok but not tobacco .
Yes, when I have a beer, that beer go into me and only me. alcohol wouldn’t be okay if I had said beer and you were forced to have a little bit because you were simply near me.
Yeah, that’s true about your beer. It’s also true when someone smokes in his or her own car or chews tobacco, yet those activities are banned, too, on campus. This policy was put into effect, not so much to protect non-smokers, but to put up the facade of protecting everyone from the scourge of tobacco (while ignoring other risky and dangerous activities for the sake of this popular bandwagon). It also dismisses the idea that adults are adults and don’t need the protection police regulating their behavior when it comes to legal activity.
Because some smokes were not being adults. They were not following the rules. They were yelling, enforce the current rules, I am sorry but your right they are adults and if they can not follow the rules, too bad.
So those who did follow the rules that were never enforced should be penalized as well? The university should have enforced those rules that existed but, instead, have now called those rules “failed policy” so that they can enact this new policy. By the way, the new welcome signs that prioritize the no tobacco campus are ridiculously over the top. It’s as if they’re saying that this is the main mission.
Oh yes when I smoke I cause you harm . When you drive a car or heat your house you cause me harm. If you sat in a garage with me smoking you would live but with a car running you would not.
Based on the description in the article, it sounds like Li was doing the right thing — traveling on the sidewalk and crossing the road in the unmarked crosswalk — when Armstrong hit him.
Google Maps Street View:
http://goo.gl/maps/QhOsy
What is an “unmarked crosswalk”? In any case, I am not blaming Mr. Li. I am simply stating that the culture at UMaine encourages the disobeying of traffic laws.
An unmarked crosswalk exists anywhere that a sidewalk crosses a street but there is no painted crosswalk.
Example:
http://flic.kr/p/aSz4YR
Then the pedestrian doesn’t have the right of way there.
5. Pedestrian crossing. A pedestrian must yield the right-of-way to a vehicle when crossing a way: A. Other than within a marked crosswalk; or[1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2(NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5(AFF).]
You’re right. Pedestrians only have the right of way in marked crosswalks.
29-A MRSA §2056, sub-§5
This didn’t take place on campus, folks. Allen Road is the entrance from College Avenue to Dryden Terrace and has nothing to do with pedestrian laws on campus at all.
Correct. Pedestrian laws are pedestrian laws throughout the state. I was simply stating that it’s no surprise that this would happen to a college student because a sizable number of students pay no heed to traffic or traffic laws.
Where was he crossing the road from?
The other side xD
Don’t wear dark clothes when you are walking at night!