A vehicle struck a pedestrian, who died at the scene.
In other words, a car killed someone.
She was crossing in the crosswalk of a sprawling intersection late at night.
The car’s driver was not wearing a helmet.
No skid marks on the pavement.
And he was texting.
These facts may indicate vehicular manslaughter.
Though sober at the time, the driver was a recovering drug addict.
After the crash, the car showed no signs of remorse, though the driver sobbed uncontrollably, mortified.
The victim was an active boozer, and she had been boozing before she was killed.
Like the car’s driver, the victim was not wearing a helmet.
She was also an ex-convict
And homeless at the time of impact.
These facts may exonerate the car’s driver.
The car was a Ford Mustang, and it was going 80 in a 45 at the time of impact.
Video footage from cameras at the 24-lane intersection showed the crosswalk’s pedestrian signal said WALK at the time of impact.
Also, the cameras showed a green light for the Ford Mustang at the time of impact.
After a few hours of interrogation and flashing lights, the shattered glass was swept up, the blood washed off, the orange cones and flares picked up.
Per the department of transportation protocol, the intersection entered a state of mourning.
Video footage showed sustained moments of sadness and silence for the rest of the night.
“I was just doing my job,” the pedestrian signal said. “Usually the coast is clear when I say WALK.”
Archival data from the department of transportation confirmed the pedestrian signal’s claim.
Nonetheless, the incident was the third fatality on that particular pedestrian signal’s crosswatch.
Thus, per the department of transportation’s Three Strikes rule, the hazardous pedestrian signal would be removed and replaced with a new “smart” signal.
In addition to brighter LED lights and beeping audio cues, the smart signal features Time-of-Day specific messaging designed to reflect the city’s innovative commitment to safety.
The new signal would display DONT WALK and WALK during the day, as before.
But at night it would display DONT WALK and DONT WALK RUN.
The new smart pedestrian signal was installed on a Tuesday and received moderate media coverage from local news channels.
Meanwhile, in Kraków, thousands of miles away, the pedestrian signals chuckled and sighed when I told them about these shiny new toys.
“Safety no come from light and word,” one downtown Kraków pedestrian signal told me, shaking his head. “Safety only come from fear.”
Day and night, the Kraków signals and lights remain off — dark and silent, like their arms are crossed.
This creates a confusing and stressful environment for Kraków cars.
They don’t know when to go, whose turn it is, or if another car — or worse, a pedestrian — is going to cross out of nowhere.
The cars don’t want any trouble, and they fret about the grave consequences of a misstep.
Guilt and remorse; sadness and loneliness; stains on the community; shattered glass and dreams.
Cars drive by slowly and skittishly, praying the sword of Damocles hanging above doesn’t strike them down.
For pedestrians the stoic and brooding signals serve as guardian angels.
People walk the streets safely; when they need to cross, the cars stop politely, effusively, to let them pass.
The wolf stays in the woods, the lights stay off, and life goes on.