A Wreck is a Wreck, Is a Wreck – Is A Wreck

A week ago, September 7, 2011, the Times-Standard posted this picture captioned: Three-vehicle collision in Eureka. Click on the picture to read what they said happened. The pertinent parts: “According to Eureka Police officers and witnesses on the scene, a blue Honda Accord was headed west on Hodgson Street and did not stop before attempting to cross H Street.” *** “The female driver of the blue Honda was transported to St. Joseph Hospital with minor cuts and chest pains; the occupants of the other two vehicles were uninjured.” [Emphasis added]

My first response was, “Well, at least the one that ran the stop sign on a major thru-street was the only one to get hurt.” My second response was that this seemed like a good opportunity to demonstrate the increasing bad consequences for the whole community of people that deliberately runs stop signs hurting people.

In the meantime, while working on this project, I read in today's Time-Standard, Letters To The Editor: "Accident caption" by Loran Parker of Eureka.

Accident caption

Letter to the Editor

Posted: 09/15/2011 02:00:18 AM PDT

Yes, you printed a photo caption about an accident that happened at the intersections of Hodgeson and H Street in Eureka in last Wednesday's paper. The accident happened the day before. Well, I don't know where you people get your information from but your whole story is wrong.

You see, my wife was driving the blue Honda that got hit. She did stop at the stop sign on Hodgeson. The person that hit her was going way too fast to start with to do the damage that happened to my wife's car. I believe it was posted for 30 mph on that street. The driver who hit her had a clear view of the road ahead of him with plenty of time to at least slow down a little before impact, but with the damage done to our car should be enough to show he was traveling way over the posted speed. Also my wife never hit another vehicle. The third vehicle involved was behind the person that hit my wife. So, let's get the story straight, OK?

Loran Parker

Eureka

It seems, according to Loran Parker, there are some discrepancies regarding the accuracy of this reporting apparently by Josh Jackson of the Times-Standard. Parker says, his wife stopped at that intersection. He says, according to the amount of the damage done to his wife's car by the car that hit his wife, the cause of the "collison" was “speeding” by the other two drivers involved in the “collision.” So, did the Ford Thunderbird "clip" her as stated in the paper? Or did the Ford Thunderbird hit her? Either way, what happen here is NO “collision.” It is a flat out deliberate and intentional WRECK. It's no accident that two people were deliberately speeding or that the other driver ran a stop sign. Hodgson at this point is certainly not a through street and anyone living in Eureka would know that.  

Suppose, however, that the driver of the blue Honda Accord did stop at the stop sign and that the other two northbound cars on H were actually doing the speed limit. We all know that H Street is a through street and that traffic has the right of way. Does that mean that the H Street traffic has the right to slam into someone already in the intersection? Or does the cross-traffic, in this case the blue Honda, could dart out in front of the through traffic, get into the intersection first and expect the through traffic to yield? How does a car stopped at a stop sign on a through street, hit or “clip” another car already in the intersection – even a fast moving car? A real conundrum. I'm sure the police have that puzzle simplified to a basic state – through traffic has the right of way, car on right failed to yield, end of story ( even though car on right was already IN the intersection or exiting the intersection.)

...and then God chimed in: (Times-Standard, Letter to Editor, Friday, September 16, 2011)

No, you guys had it right

Now let's get this straight – Mr. Parker must be telling the truth.

After all – his wife said she stopped. But then again she drove out in front of on coming traffic.

(NOTE: Makes it impossible for her to “clip a Ford Thunderbird.”)

Not good. Especially when speed limit 35 ( and not 30 Mr. P.)

If she can't judge how far away and how fast a car is approaching, especially if it is speeding – then who allowed her to be licensed??

(NOTE: As a Commercial Truck Driver for a portion of my life, it is precisely the “speeder” that is most difficult to gauge their speed.)

You guys got it correct. His letter is a joke.

James Tenney
Eureka

(NOTE: Don't know who these “guys” are he's talking to. The Times-Standard Editor is female.)

Why is it that there are so many wrecks on the through streets in Eureka?

--Joe