FOURTH STREET An unmarked intersection that residents claim is notorious for car accidents was the site of a deadly crash on Wednesday evening, when a 90-year-old man was struck and killed by a motorist.
The elderly man was on Idaho Avenue crossing Fourth Street when he was hit by a 37-year-old female who was traveling southbound on Fourth Street in a 2007 BMW, according to police.
Witnesses said the man lay in the street like a “crumbled piece of tin foil,” his dentures sitting in a pool of blood.
Santa Monica Fire Department paramedics transported the pedestrian to UCLA Hospital in Westwood, where he later died of his injuries.
The driver of the vehicle was not injured and has been cooperating with investigators, police said.
The identity of the victim had not been released as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
It was the third fatal traffic accident this year involving a pedestrian on a Santa Monica street, raising concerns about the safety of walking or bicycling in a city that aggressively promotes such environmentally friendly activities.
“I feel, as pedestrians, we take our lives in our hands every day as we walk in Santa Monica,” said Jennifer French, who lives a few houses away from the latest accident and often hears the sound of screeching tires and twisting metal. “People speed and don’t look out for pedestrians … I hope this (accident) will force them to do something now.
“They should have done something a long time ago.” The first accident occurred in January at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Euclid Street. An 80-year-old man was hit by a motorist as he was walking through a lighted crosswalk. Only three of the 25 lights were working at the time of the accident, police said.
At the time of the crash, investigators believed the setting sun may have been a factor in the crash.
In March, a 40-year-old woman was killed near Santa Monica Place when she was hit by an MTA bus while walking through a crosswalk on Second Street.
City officials said they are looking into the three accidents to determine if more measures can be taken to ensure public safety.
“We are taking this matter very seriously,” said City Manager Lamont Ewell, who on behalf of City Hall offered condolences to the family of the man killed Tuesday. “We are responsive, however, it never seems fast enough when you have fatalities like this,so I certainly understand the concerns.”
Ewell said reports on the two previous accidents showed obstruction of the driver as being a contributing factor, which he said was “troubling,” prompting him to have a discussion with the police chief about putting out public service announcements warning the public to be mindful of their surroundings and to pay attention when crossing the street or driving through an intersection.
“We want to encourage walking and bicycling, but we also want to encourage people to be very mindful of the distraction of drivers,” Ewell said. “We all have encountered where someone nearly ran into us, whether on foot or in cars.
“We need to be mindful of how distracted some of our drivers have become over the years.”
City Hall has responded to residents living along Ocean Park Boulevard, where there were five pedestrian-related accidents in 2006, one of which was fatal. City staff met with residents and is in the process of making improvements, Ewell said.
“I have also received e-mails from residents about looking into the Eastside and some of the neighborhoods there that are having problems,” Ewell said.
RESIDENTS SOUND THE BELL City Hall may also want to think about creating more bicycle lanes. With just 3 percent of its streets featuring an exclusive path for cyclists, the city gives itself a “poor” ranking in its Sustainable City Progress Report.
With more than 160 miles of arterial streets — those roadways designed for a high degree of mobility and traffic — the city has in place less than five miles’ worth of designated paths.
Those living near Fourth Street and Idaho said they have warned the city for years about drivers speeding and the danger of not having a four-way stop at the intersection. One neighbor said several Christmas carolers were hit near the very spot where the man was killed Tuesday.
In six months, Brett Conrad said he has heard at least three accidents outside his apartment window. Casey Haley, a resident at Exbrook Arms, an assisted living facility on Fourth Street,said he has seen seven accidents in the last year and a half.
“They need to get a (stop) sign in here quick,” said Greg Castleberry, also a resident of Exbrook Arms. “They need to put more motor officers here too to catch those speeding. You have all these jerks in their high-powered Ferraris and Mercedes coming flying through here. They need to do something now before another accident like this happens, which it will, if they don’t act soon.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.