Edmonds police said Wednesday they are not going to ticket the driver of a car that collided with former Edmonds City Councilmember Ron Wambolt last Friday, Sept. 25.
“After conducting an investigation, we were unable to completely determine the circumstances of how the collision occurred,” said. Edmonds Police Department spokesman Sgt. Shane Hawley. Complicating matters is the fact that Wambolt said he has little recollection of the incident, which occurred Friday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 104 and 15th Street.
Police determined that the driver wasn’t distracted or impaired by drugs or alcohol, Hawley said.Wambolt was walking southbound on the east side of Highway 104 toward QFC when the collision occurred. The driver said he was stopped at the light, preparing to make a free right turn onto Highway 104, and was looking left when Wambolt was hit. Police were unable to determine whether the driver didn’t see Wambolt while preparing to make the turn or whether Wambolt stepped into the turning car as it was inching forward after stopping at the light.
The 81-year-old Wambolt, who received a gash on his head requiring stitches and two black eyes, is recovering at home in Edmonds after spending last Friday and Saturday night at Seattle’s Harborview Hospital,. Wambolt served on the council from 2006-2010.
The pedestrian was crossing at an intersection, the driver, by their own admission, was looking left while turning right, and yet no citation was issued?
Seriously?
We are living a well-lit dystopian nightmare.
Teresa or Larry – How many reports are filed for pedestrians are hit by vehicles each year in Edmonds? I couldn’t find it on the EPD page. It seems like there are a lot that involve major injuries.
Ron, I hope you heal quickly.
Hi Susan — We’ll see if we can get an answer on that.
Dystopian nightmare indeed! My good friend Ellie Bonanno was killed by a driver on Walnut street and he was not charged either!!! The police of Edmonds does not do its job at regulating traffic speed downtown because as one told me they “want to be nice to the citizens”. Myself and several people I know have almost gotten hit while crossing Edmonds streets at crosswalks. We know of two deaths and now Mr. Wambolt. What will it takes for the Edmonds Police to do their job? The driver of a car is responsible at all times for his vehicle and needs to do all it can to avoid pedestrian. In Edmonds the code is rewritten as the findings from the police is always “shared responsibility”. As Ken said so aptly “dystopian nightmare”.
Perhaps Sgt Hawley could elaborate on what the requirements are in order for the police to issue a citation in these kinds of circumstances. The police are constrained by many factors in issuing citations. It would be interesting to hear what is required by the police in order to issue a citation in pedestrian v car accidents. And I do hope Ron is making a speedy and full recovery.
I could be wrong but it appears to me that even when someone is dead on the street, paticularly regarding a car recently actually jumping a curb (which to my recollection did not do on its own), all 5,000 pounds of steel killing someone, and a mere slap on the hand with something like a $250.00 ticket…….????
…….Are there no consequences for inattentive or reckless driving especially where someone has been injured or actually killed.? I’ve never heard of this before. Are we not all responsible for the 5,000 pounds of steel we operate on our roads and that can very easily kill someone if we’re not giving our driving our total and full attention………at all times, no matter the circumstances……Survival of the fittest comes to my mind
Are we supposed to believe that pedestrians are just jumping out in front of these cars with our city chocking it up to they’re old or whatever and blaming the pedestrian. Thats even more of a reason to hold drivers to a a standard of competent attentive driving at all times at all areas. Anybody could be crossing a street at a light corner, crosswalk, youn g, old, strollers, kids, etc.and this is supposed to be a standard……..a car yields to a pedestrian
why wouldnt one ? we’re talking about human beings against 5,000 pounds of steel.
I hate it when the person is dead or injured and some people here blame the victim no matter what the circumstances. Something wrong with that…….mean and sinister, rather than looking at what the real problem is.
Our city does not care about the safety of individuals……look at Sunset…….look at the crumb rubber fields , look at how few highlighted pesdestrians crosswalks and markings for safety that we have on our streets…….how few signs, how bout the lack of rigorous checking of asbestos abatement for construction tear downs in our city……how many chemicals have been allowed to float around and in our city…….how much paint dumped in our streams for how long and by how many?? I’m from a big city nearby and I never had to ask or point out these things before that we have seen and I havent lived here very long.
I have written in ad nauseum regading the lack of safety on our streets and clearly nobody is accountable, even when someone is injured or dead……nobody accountable, including our elected officials……..who cares?……just those asking the questions and I dont see many in our government responding or asking any of these important questions
It would be interesting to find out how a driver can hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk and not be cited.
Especially interesting since the “Vulnerable User” law, passed in 2012, was supposed to make it a lot easier to cite allegedly negligent drivers for injuring pedestrians and cyclists: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.526
Driver should have been cited. A pedestrian was hit. You shouldn’t take a “free right” if you don’t look to the right for pedestrians before proceeding.