Pedestrian, 70, hit by car during rainstorm

By Mara Stine

The Gresham Outlook, Nov 9, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

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A motorist hit a 70-year-old pedestrian during a rainstorm on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Donald J. Pfau of Portland is in serious condition with a broken right arm and a broken right leg at Oregon Health & Science University, said Sgt. Rick Wilson, Gresham police spokesman.

The man told police he has no memory of the incident, Wilson said.

Katherine Stewart, 37, of Portland was driving eastbound in the right lane of the 1300 block of East Powell Boulevard at 6:42 p.m. during a heavy rainstorm when a man suddenly appeared in her lane, Wilson said.

“She tried stopping, but it was too late,” he said. A witness estimated the vehicle was traveling at 30 to 40 mph during the collision, according to a fire report.

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Reader comments

Re: Pedestrian, 70, hit by car during rainstorm

Pedestrians need to remember that they are hard for drivers to see in dim light or when it's precipitating. Especially at night, a pedestrian wearing dark clothes is impossible to see until directly in front of the headlights!

Drivers need to remember that pedestrians do exist and can show up at unexpected moments. That's particularly true of children, but adults may be preoccupied, too. Drivers especially need to watch for pedestrians in crosswalks when doing right turns (my experience as a pedestrian is that a lot of drivers don't look!).