An 84-year-old Lawrence man remains hospitalized at Kansas University Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., after he was struck crossing Sixth Street last week.
According to a Lawrence police accident report, Wesley H. Layton suffered a small laceration on the back of his head and a broken left leg. He was transferred to KU Hospital from Lawrence Memorial Hospital after the accident at noon last Thursday.
A KU Hospital spokesman said Wednesday afternoon that an update on his condition was unavailable because of the hospital’s privacy policy. Layton’s stepdaughter Shirley Perdue said Layton, a resident of Babcock Place, was in stable condition.
Police said Layton was ticketed for crossing Sixth Street near Colorado Street, where there is no crosswalk. He was struck by an eastbound car, and witnesses said the driver of the car, 82-year-old Ulis D. Sanders of Lawrence, tried to stop. It was also raining during the accident.
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bigmike (anonymous) says…
The guy almost gets killed trying to cross a street where there should probably be a crosswalk, and the wonderful city of Lawrence gives him a ticket???
I think after a certain age drivers should have to take a in car driving test every couple years to keep their license.
It's my bet this lady should not still be driving.
LA_Ex (anonymous) says…
They guy was crossing the street illegally and you want to blame the guy driving? Sucks that he got hit, but that is why crosswalks are there. He didn't deserve to get hit and I hope he recovers, but he certainly deserves the ticket. Crosswalks are at every light along 6th street. If you think a crosswalk needs to be there, then you will most likely complain when you find out the city has to put a light there.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
They were right to ticket him. Not only was he endangering his own life, but someone else could've been killed or seriously injured if a vehicle had swerved and hit a truck or something trying to avoid the pedestrian. He should also have to pay for any repairs to the car of the person he victimized. It's great that he wasn't killed and will recover, but this could've had a much worse outcome and apparently it was purely his fault.
I'm guessing that if the "victim" had been a teen or a college kid, bleeding heart Mike would be all for ticketing them. Nobody should get special treatment for doing something dumb. It's actually condescending to give elders special treatment. They are not toddlers. They are adults and should be treated as other adults unless/until they are shown to have lost whatever mental capacity is needed to make rational decisions. Thus, if Mr. Layton couldn't help his actions because of previously undetected senile dementia (for example), he should get a break. But if he's as sharp and aware as he's always been, no break warranted.
MeAndFannieLou (anonymous) says…
I'd be Ok with always going to marked crossings if motorists would do their part and yield, especially drivers who are turning - they're often not even looking in the direction they're about to turn. Sometimes it's tempting to cross in the middle of the street because you don't have to deal with turning traffic.
beerguy (anonymous) says…
Like a crosswalk makes a difference. I've almost been hit at crosswalks more times then I can remember. I've also been cursed and honked at for having the right of way. One day you'll see my real name in one of these articles. For my sake the driver better be rich when it happens.
beerguy (anonymous) says…
Sounds like pywacket will be the one I'll be suing after he hits me at a crosswalk. And Prius's get worse gas mileage then my old 84' Volkswagen rabbit. It got over 50 miles per gallon. But it wasn't cool to be green in the 80's so I guess that doesn't count.
LA_Ex (anonymous) says…
I guess we need to put stop lights at every intersection so Seamus can cross the street. Get real. It's against the law to jaywalk. You want to know why? Because people are stupid and will try to cross 5 lanes of traffic on a busy street. I'm in shape and in my 30's and I still wouldn't attempt that.
Why? Because it's a stupid idea. Society has to create laws because people lack common sense.
jafs (anonymous) says…
I would imagine that both parties would be legally at fault.
The pedestrian was crossing in the middle of the road, which is wrong.
The driver should have been able to see him and avoid hitting him in most situations, I would think.
BMI (anonymous) says…
This is unclear. The article states he was ticketed for crossing where there is no crosswalk. Later comments state there is a crosswalk 4 blocks away, inferring that you can only cross in a 'marked crosswalk'.
Just what are the laws? Do the police mean a 'marked cross walk' or an allowed crossing area?
I was under the impression from back in my day, that a person was allowed to cross legally at any intersection with or without a crosswalk, being sensible of course.
It was recommended to use a nearby crosswalk if there was one, but some people cannot do so.
Too far, not accessible, not safe to do so.
But I recall nothing that said you may not cross "without a marked crosswalk" at an intersection. Would that not mean nearly every intersection in town? Does your neighborhood intersection have a marked crosswalk on every corner?
Was his man at an intersection, or was he in fact walking in the middle of the block? Is there some special rule because it is a certain highway?
Is is illegal to cross at each intersection along 6th street (and every other street in this town) that does not have a marked intersection?
JackRipper (anonymous) says…
Wow Lawrence is a red neck town! LA and Pywacket probably want the walkers or anything else on the street that makes them think off the road so they can race home to watch the nascar. What idiots, in a town where the comments on here tell people who want to walk to just start walking only to forget that at some point the pedestrian faces a major street to cross that is all about car traffic. Like people have said the cross walk offers no protection and generally in this hick town there is a car sitting in them, apparently thinking that those lines indicate where you are suppose to stop, just more proof that it isn't just the elderly who need to be retested yearly in order to maintain a license.