Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Glare from a brightly lit Christmas tree in a downtown park
might have been a factor in a Lexington firefighter's running over and
killing a pedestrian on Dec. 8, according to police.
An
investigative report released Tuesday said ambient light reflected off
rain-slicked pavement and the fire truck's wet windshield could have
impaired firefighter Chris Presley's vision as he turned a city-owned
fire truck left from Main Street onto South Broadway.
Lauren
Woodall Roady, 27, was legally crossing South Broadway at the time. She
was struck by the left side of the Lexington fire department's Engine 9
and run over by its back wheels, police have said. She died at the
scene.
Presley, 40, remained on paid, administrative leave Tuesday, city spokeswoman Susan Straub said.
The
police report, provided to the Herald-Leader in response to an
open-records request, outlined the months-long investigation carried out
by the police department's Collision Reconstruction Unit.
The
report revealed numerous factors that could have caused Presley not to
see Roady, and Roady not to see or hear the truck. The truck was not on
an emergency run at the time of the accident, and its lights and sirens
were not activated.
Police concluded that Roady had the
right-of-way and Presley "had the obligation to observe and yield to
Mrs. Roady," the report said.
However, Presley told police he didn't see Roady before making the turn.
"He
felt like he 'ran over a speed bump' with his back tires but saw
nothing," the report said. "He looked in the mirror and saw 'something
lying in the road' then immediately stopped Engine 9."
The report
said numerous "environmental factors" could have been partially to
blame. Obstructions included the rainy weather, fog, an abundance of
foot traffic, Roady's dark-colored clothing and blind spots in the fire
truck's cab.
The Christmas tree at nearby Triangle Park "backlit"
the periphery of the fire truck's windshield, which Presley would had to
have looked through to see Roady on the sidewalk, the report said. That
part of the windshield was coated with rain because it is not cleared
by the truck's windshield wipers.
Light from other sources such as traffic signals, business signs and street lights reflected off the wet road.
"The
light in the area ... did not illuminate the intersection effectively
and other light sources acted more as distractions or impairments," the
report said.
The report answered several questions that have
lingered since the accident, including toxicology results for both
Presley and Roady.
No drugs or alcohol were found in Presley's
system immediately after the wreck. Roady had a blood-alcohol content of
0.042, about half the legal limit of 0.08 for driving. No drugs were
found in her system, the report said.
Roady was wearing a
"multi-colored purple sweater," dark denim jeans and brown shoes. She
was carrying an open umbrella in her right hand — the side from which
the fire truck approached.
Police noted that Roady was wearing
hearing aids when she was struck, but the report did not go into detail
about Roady's hearing impairment.
"Test results showed Mrs.
Roady's hearing aids were adjusted to provide the most amplification to
mid-level sound ranges," the report said. "For a complete understanding
of Mrs. Roady's hearing, it would be necessary to compare the hearing
aid settings to her audiology testing. This was not done as her
audiology test was not requested."
A cell phone was located near
Roady's body, but investigators said she was not using it as she entered
the crosswalk. Presley was not using his cell phone either, the report
said.
Many of the signs police use to investigate fatal collisions were not present after the Dec. 8 collision.
"The weather conditions at the scene made fine evidence difficult at best to identify if it were present," the report said.
There
were no skid marks from the truck's tires or scuff marks from Roady's
shoes because the road was wet and the fire truck was traveling at low
speed, about 5 mph, as it navigated the turn, the report said. Presley
did not try to brake until after the collision.
There was no
damage to the truck. "Cleansing marks" — spots where Roady's clothing
wiped dirt off the truck's carriage — gave police an indication of where
Roady first came in contact with the 37,500-pound fire engine.
No surveillance cameras captured the collision, and there were no direct witnesses, the report said.
"Although
many persons were on social media claiming to be witnesses, the
resulting efforts produced very few witnesses to the collision. Many
persons could not be identified. Some persons who were identified were
clearly claiming to be witnesses but in fact did not see the collision,"
the report said.
The collision has not resulted in any policy
changes at the fire department, Straub said. Joe Best, spokesman for the
fire department, said its administration had not had a chance to review
the report's findings and could not immediately comment.
There
does not seem to have been any litigation resulting from the accident
either in Fayette County Circuit Court or U.S. District Court in
Lexington.
Straub said the city had not paid out any settlements,
but she said she could not reveal whether the city has spoken with
attorneys for Roady's family.
Roady, an attorney for the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C., was in Lexington with
members of her running club to compete in a cross-country event at
Masterson Station Park.
She was on the way to the Horse and Barrel pub on North Broadway to meet her teammates when she was hit.
