Right here is the busiest intersection in town....

[Majik]

A reporter is doing a live report at a dangerous intersection and a crash happens behind him. Good stuff.http://wm.gannett.speedera.net/wm.ga...rash_video.wmv

[channelmaniac]

Typical reporter... keep on talking... don't check on the poor schmucks in the wreck.

[chucka]

This is the folow up news story regarding the accident:

Kim Wilhelm
KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
Wednesday, September 15, 2004


A crash caught on camera shows why so many are concerned about the safety of the intersection. On Eyewitness News at 6, Eyewitness News Reporter Matt Mauro was reporting live at the intersection of 119th West and 53rd North in Sedgwick County. Tuesday night, a Maize High School student was seriously hurt when her car collided with a truck.

Matt was showing viewers what some believe makes the intersection unsafe when a car and truck hit right in front of him. Matt and his photographer were standing just to the side of the stop sign. One car appears to be moving through the stop sign at 119th. The truck is westbound on 53rd, as a van turns onto 119th, a safe distance away. Right after that van makes its turn, the car moves onto 53rd, right in front of the truck. The impact pushes the car into the ditch and the truck stops in the ditch on the other side of 53rd.

As of Wednesday night, the man in the car is in critical condition. The truck driver was not hurt. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department is wrapping up the investigation. The preliminary cause of the accident is that the driver of the car failed to yield. Eyewitness News showed the tape to Sgt. Jonathan Cherney of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department. Cherney went through the video footage frame by frame.

Looking at the videotape, Cherney says the accident was caused when the driver of the car rolls right through the stop sign.

“In this particular accident, I don't see him coming to a complete stop,” said Cherney. “He still needs to make sure it's safe to go before proceeding and obviously in this case, it was not safe nor was it clear.”

Authorities know it’s a dangerous intersection but Cherney says until people pay attention, all the warning signs in the world won’t make a difference.

“My deputies are constantly stopping people for rolling through stop signs,” said Cherney. “People get extremely upset at the deputies for getting tickets for that, but we work so many bad accidents and when you're doing that, you're not taking an extra look back and forth. If you just take that extra second to look, these things would be avoidable.”

Cherney says from what he saw on the video, the driver didn’t appear to be distracted by anything. He says it looks like he just didn’t come to a complete stop and then pulled into the intersection when it was too late.

Eyewitness News also talked with members of the Sedgwick County Commission about the accident. A traffic engineer will study the safety of the intersection and changes could happen in the next month.

But again, Cherney says that won’t do any good if drivers don’t come to a complete stop and give themselves time to look both ways.

Immediately after the accident, Matt and photographer Kevin Rempe, were quick to help the accident victims. Matt finished his report and went to check on the drivers. Kevin called 911 and grabbed a fire extinguisher from our live truck after seeing chemicals from the airbag, which appeared to be smoke.

[channelmaniac]

Yeah, "Immediately" has a different meaning in my book when he's standing there giving the detailed report on the accident before going to help.

RJ

[chucka]

Yeah, "Immediately" has a different meaning in my book when he's standing there giving the detailed report on the accident before going to help.

RJ

Typical reporter... keep on talking... don't check on the poor schmucks in the wreck

if i was standing just a few feet away from a 55 mph wreck that could have easily killed me if the cars hit just a little differently, i would be in shock and not know what to do.

there were other cars close by that could have easily gotten out of there cars to help too. you just saw a 51 second clip and you act like all reporters are heartless and dont care. you have no idea what happened after.

[onething]

1. I have little respect for reporters or politicians in general. They both do a job I would never consider.

2. No one can know what you would do in such a situation. Every time is different - Been there, done that, got the certification to prove it.

3. At least the news crew didn't do a really good job of covering the wreck...we didn't see In Your Face interviews with the drivers before they could get out of their cars and the dust settled

4. They stopped the camera, and we don't know what happened after that.

Gotta believe they rendered aid as claimed.

Who do you help first? The critically injured driver who caused the wreck or the uninjured victim?

[Dave04]

Who do you help first? The critically injured driver who caused the wreck or the uninjured victim?

From personal experience, I tend to at least check on the victim first (assuming I know who that is). After that, whoever needs it most.