Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

seth · 2012-02-20 15:38:52

A man was killed and a woman was critically injured Sunday evening after they were struck by a car in front of a grocery store just north of the University of Texas, police said.

The car was traveling south on Guadalupe Street at about 7 p.m. when it collided with another vehicle and hit the man and woman who were standing outside the Wheatsville Food Co-op on the east side of Guadalupe near West 31st Street. The car then crashed into a pole supporting the sign for Four Sons' Quality Cleaners a block south, police said.

The driver of the vehicle, a woman, was being questioned by investigators and was not identified.

The man and woman were taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge. Police said the man was born in 1950 but did not identify him. They also did not identify the woman.

All lanes of Guadalupe between 30th and 32nd streets were closed for several hours Sunday night as police investigated the incident.

bizikletari · 2012-02-20 17:35:10

And there still people who think bicycles are dangerous.

seth · 2012-02-20 19:07:36

Monday update: Austin police have filed two charges on the driver they say struck two people Sunday night, killing one of them, on Guadalupe near 31st streets.
Linda Dianne Woodman, 59, is in custody and has been charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault, police said. Her bail has been set at $55,000.
The person who was killed was identified as 61-year-old Dik Van Meerten, while the injured person was identified as 21-year-old Sarah Lee Parker.
Vehicular homicide Detective Michael McCarter told the American-Statesman this afternoon that Woodman is still being treated at a hospital for "some medical issues" that were not caused by the wreck. She received a minor injury from her seat belt, McCarter said. He said the intoxication charges don't come from alcohol use.
"We know it wasn't alcohol. We suspect it was medication," McCarter said.
Woodman tried to refuse medical treatment, he said. "Her account of what happened didn't match what happened," said McCarter, who said Woodman didn't realize she'd hit anyone. "She thought she had hit a pothole, and lost control of the car."

MichaelBluejay · 2012-02-21 01:00:50

I went to Wheatsville tonight and surveyed the damage. The police painted pink lines to show the path of the vehicle onto the sidewalk next to Wheatsville. The damage to the SW corner of WV itself is obvious, as are the lack of bike racks and the bench that used to be there on the west side. There's also an orange traffic cone over what was probably a streetlight pole. Down at Quality Cleaners, the formerly rotating sign is teetering, with the area underneath roped off and a warning not to stand under the sign. I picked up part of a headlight from under the sign.

It's not clear to me where the pedestrians were struck on the sidewalk, but from the articles, it sounds like they were either on the sidewalk between the WV parking lot entrance and exit, or they were a little farther south.

Here's the Statesman report.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/dri … 88965.html

McChris · 2012-02-21 14:18:54

Here's an interesting tidbit from the Statesman story:

Public records show Woodman, who was a registered nurse, served a year under the Texas Department of Corrections for an obstruction of a highway offense that occurred in October 2009.

Isn't "obstruction of a highway" a typical charge when DAs plea bargain DUI cases? If that was the case here, the justice system apparently put an irresponsible driver back on the road.

MichaelBluejay · 2012-02-21 17:48:41

Here's another article:

http://www.kvue.com/home/Two-fatal-auto … 86723.html

She's charged with Intoxication Manslaughter (for the guy she killed) and Intoxication Assault (for the woman she injured). As per the laws page, the jail time is 2-20 years for the former, and 2-10 years for the latter (plus a possible fine of up to $10,000 for each charge). But, as I always say, I wish the law prescribed permanent license revocation as a possible penalty.

MichaelBluejay · 2012-02-22 00:28:18

McChris, you were right on the money:

Statesman wrote:

A driving while intoxicated charge against Woodman for an offense on Oct. 4, 2009, was dismissed and refiled as an obstruction highway passageway offense , according to the Travis County clerk's office. The circumstances of that arrest were not immediately known. She was convicted on that charge , to which she had pleaded no contest, and was sentenced June 21, 2010, to a year of probation and counseling, court filings show.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/ped … 91379.html

It'll be nice when they start taking people's licenses away for drunk driving.

Bicycle Austin forum

#1 2012-02-20 15:38:52

Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

#2 2012-02-20 17:35:10

Re: Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

#3 2012-02-20 19:07:36

Re: Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

#4 2012-02-21 01:00:50

Re: Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

#5 2012-02-21 14:18:54

Re: Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

#6 2012-02-21 17:48:41

Re: Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

#7 2012-02-22 00:28:18

Re: Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured on Sidewalk of Wheatsville Coop

Board footer