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Car collides into pole

By JAYNE HANSON
Today's News-Herald
Published Tuesday, February 16, 2010 1:46 AM MST

A Lake Havasu City woman was injured Monday morning during a single-vehicle accident after she reportedly struck the concrete crosswalk safety island located in the middle of South Acoma Boulevard in front of the Lake Havasu Senior Center.

Stacie Foster, 50, was driving her blue 2007 Nissan Versa northbound in the 400 block of South Acoma Boulevard when the collision occurred about 9:13 a.m. Monday.

Foster was reportedly traveling alone in the vehicle at the time of the collision. The impact caused the driver’s side air bag to deploy, said Lake Havasu City Police Officer Justin Wilson.

Eyewitnesses told police they saw the vehicle traveling at an estimated 35 mph when Foster ran into the pole on the concrete crosswalk island.

“There was no braking observed,” Wilson said of eyewitness reports.

Wilson said he estimated the damage to be more than $1,000.

“The vehicle appeared to be totaled. I am not an insurance adjuster, but I would guess that it is a total loss,” Wilson said.

Foster was reportedly conscious and talking with Havasu firefighter paramedics as they tended to her injuries at the scene. Her chief complaint to emergency responders was pain associated with her right hip, said Battalion Chief Rick Felish of Lake Havasu City Fire Department.

River Medical ambulance service transported Foster to Havasu Regional Medical Center. She was later air evacuated to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas.

Foster was reportedly “alert and conscious” at the hospital but had sustained a nosebleed, a cut to her left knee and complained of pain on the right side of her body in the emergency room, police said.

While at the hospital, Foster told Wilson she was attempting to navigate the curve in the roadway and when she attempted to hit the brake pedal of her vehicle, she missed. She also told police she was focused on the floorboard of the vehicle at the time of the crash. Foster also reported she was wearing a seatbelt.

The crosswalk safety island was installed in August 2008 at the request of the Senior Center board of directors. The purpose of the mid-roadway raised crosswalk safety hub was to enhance pedestrian safety for seniors crossing Acoma Boulevard to access the outgoing Havasu Area Transit bus stop, according to earlier reports.

The project was unanimously approved by Lake Havasu City Public Works Advisory Board and City Council last year and was constructed and installed with grant money.

According to police department records, this is the second collision that has occurred at the crosswalk island location on Acoma Boulevard. The first occurred when a drunken driver reportedly struck the mid-roadway island March 31, 2009.

You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.

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Comments (26 comment(s))

LosTacos wrote on Feb 9, 2011 11:40 PM:

" Sure is a lot of broken hips goin on around Havasu. 1 out of 10 broken hips are people over 65 who missed pool therapy, Forgot to take calcite, broke a walker wheel or just plain collided with a concrete or pole impediment while driving drunk, DWE or just staring at the floor. I prefer cobalt chrome hip replacement vs plastics which cause osteolysis. If done by the age of 25 your hips will be around.... forever. Here's a novel idea. Don't build obstructions in the middle or sides of roads. "

mamafoster50 wrote on Mar 12, 2010 5:08 PM:

" Just for the record, I can drive I just had an issue physically with my foot that morning and I know where the gas & brake are...

All I want to do is recover from this..I do have a orthopedic doctor in town, his staff did everything to keep me here and keep me comfortable until morning, to reduce the dislocation of the hip and operatre in the morning..HRMC made the decision to fly me out to Vegas..

All i want to do is walk again and no it wasn't just a nosebleed..

Thanks to those who truly care and know me and are my friends! I love all of you! "

mamafoster50 wrote on Mar 12, 2010 4:51 PM:

" I am home from Sunrise Rehab and recovering from the MVA on february 15, 2010. I have serious and extenseive injuries that required surgey and will require additional surgey. I am wheel chair and walker bound, for at least the next 6 months.

Many thanks to those who have been concerned..

To the individual who stated I was sent to Vegas for just a "nose bleed"?? Really!

Remember; "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"

I am somebody's, Daughter, Mother, Wife & Grandmother.......I have feelings too! "

had it with havasu wrote on Feb 22, 2010 3:55 AM:

" My first thought upon seeing that island was that it was placed there to prevent golf carts from using that crosswalk. Take another look at it.

The virtually useless signals they installed at the London Bridge are ugly and obtrusive. Drivers are already distracted, just like this driver, and they don't even see the lights because they are not on any sight line. Recessed red lights in the pavement at either end of the bridge would be far more effective and far less obtrusive.

On Acoma, putting up a target like this is fine. Keeps golf carts from crossing the road in a dangerous location, provides refuge for anyone brave enough to try to cross a boulevard traveled by drivers who can't find the brake pedal and takes out the most inept drivers. Perfect.

HRMC - cookie cutter treatment for maximum billing options. The traditional role we expect from a hospital is not going to be found there. "

Calidowns wrote on Feb 18, 2010 3:38 PM:

" True Whatajoke, I have never been to Havasu Medical and them not fix everything I needed. Getoverit needs to take his meds, doesn't look like whatajoke said anything worng to me northbound. Chill is right getoverit. Geez. "

LHCMOM wrote on Feb 18, 2010 12:10 PM:

" I believe the name is spelt McCulloch. But that is besides the point. There is a bus stop right in front of the senior center why on earth did we need to have the crosswalk? I think it would have served a better and safer purpose if it were put in front of the High School...oh yeah, our kids don't matter right? How many kids will have to be hurt or killed before the city does something to keep them safe. And I agree with O'Really and the idea of an on demand pedestrian light. I think that is what they have up in Tuscon and they are pretty cool. Just a suggestion on something the city could look into. "

Wisconsin wrote on Feb 17, 2010 11:24 PM:

" O.K. I realize I have only lived here since October, but the politics of this town are downright funny! First, I drive past that area at least 2 times a day, so over the last 4 or 5 months is about 240 to 300 times that I have driven through. I hav eyet to see someone in "the safety" of that birdcage. It seems more like a "bullseye" to me.

Second, it amazes me that in spite of the founder of this fine city, it seem stha tno one can spell the poor man's name, McChulloch, or should one C be lower case? Why couldn't he have just gone by Smith or Jones? "

oldone wrote on Feb 17, 2010 11:17 PM:

" One of the problems with a bus stop at the senior center is that the bus cannot use the parking lot as it ist too small and ingress and egres is not suitable. The island was requested by the center and as the piece said went through the public works advisory board and Council. The position of the island was set after much debate. "

getoverit wrote on Feb 17, 2010 6:43 PM:

" whatajoke I also broke my hip and they had to fly me to vegas. So just goes to show you they can't handel all broken hips so chill out. "

curious wrote on Feb 17, 2010 11:39 AM:

" I, too, am surprised this is only the second "reported" incident at this man-made road hazard. Perhaps it needs a flashing caution light...or removal. I'm usually too distracted by the golf carts to notice an unoccupied cement island or mid-road curb. Needs better markings, for sure.
That gripe aside, HRMC is not equipped to handle even minor trauma, certainly not a fractured hip. Then, too, if there is even a hint of head or neck injury (not uncommon with air bag deployment), it's off to Vegas where Neuro and Ortho docs are standing by and READY to treat any trauma. ANY trauma, ANY age, ANY underlying problems, ANY time of day or night. Well worth the trip, methinks. Once the EMT's apply that C-collar it cannot be removed until qualified medical personnel verify clearance. Can't find THAT at HRMC, either. It's a shame. "

dubld wrote on Feb 17, 2010 11:09 AM:

" .....I'll even agree that a safe crossing is needed but not at the end or beginning of a curve in the road. This could've been placed a little better....money not well spent. "

dubld wrote on Feb 17, 2010 11:00 AM:

" Beyond.....how could it be well spent if it was un-needed? Not installing that island & simply having the pick-up & drop-off at the senior center, would've been safer & cheaper.
Your tirade makes me think you're the ONE person that uses it.
The bump-outs on McCullough seem to be of way more use, though I would like to see McCullough be closed off permanently, from Acoma to Smoketree with Swanson(N.) & Mesquite(S.) being one-way streets, respectively. I think it could be a great downtown area with the availability for events still.
The dog park I was completely against spending any money on. "

whatajoke wrote on Feb 17, 2010 7:47 AM:

" Northbound- I broke my hip and " our hospital " took care of it. "

Beyond Today wrote on Feb 16, 2010 5:01 PM:

" The two times that the island has been hit have been caused by inattentive drivers, first by a drunk driver, second by a driver looking down at the floor board after missing her brake pedal. How many hundreds or thousands of cars pass there daily and seem to navigate correctly. If only one pedestrian crosses there a day and does so safely then it was grant money well spent.
The bumpouts on McCulloch are there to prevent cars passing on the right, again to protect the pedestrians crossing the street. I look at it as the city watching out for the pedestrians and the drivers. If your driving and strike a pedestrian in a clearly marked crosswalk, i'm sure your minimum liability insurance policy will not even cover a fraction of the medical bills and sure to come lawsuit.
The dollars being spent on these "pet" projects as some of the usual complainers want to call it, is money well spent for the safety of pedestrians and the drivers of LHC. Keep these projects coming, its better than dog parks. "

o'really wrote on Feb 16, 2010 3:30 PM:

" for about the same money they could have put an on demand pedestrian stoplight. But my guess is that somehow they can issue more tickets this way.... "

coolbridge wrote on Feb 16, 2010 2:21 PM:

" No, it should not be car collides with poll, unless the car is going to vote. Nothing was built in the traffic lane, that is left for cars, none of which were using the lane when the crashes happened. The McCullough vehicles were driving in the parking zone or passing on the right in a crosswalk area in order to hit the island, driver error. The senior center area, with the speeds people drive, reduced visibility, and street width, is a challenge for most pedestrians. Grant money (money from a funding source other than city coffers) was well spent on a safe crossing. "

n2havasu09 wrote on Feb 16, 2010 2:19 PM:

" luke- No, because that's the wrong use of "poll." Plus "with pole" would imply the pole also collided with the car, when we all know that poles cannot move. The car did collide into the pole.

I live right by that crosswalk, and I never see anyone using it. I literally drive by that spot 10 times a day, at different hours of the day, and it's always empty. What a waste of money. All because some senior citizens complained to some other senior citizens and got their way. I have nothing against the older citizens of our town, but it seems like "they" always seem to get their way, and the rest of the population (people working, driving, paying taxes) just have to put up with it or risk looking "ageist" or unsympathetic. "

northbound wrote on Feb 16, 2010 1:26 PM:

" leslie the pain to the right hip could of been a broken hip or dislocated hip which if it was broken our hospital can't handle. "

BonHomme Richard wrote on Feb 16, 2010 12:53 PM:

" The crosswalk Safety islands are a great idea! We should put them downtown That will make the Jay-walkers safer. "

lukephillips21 wrote on Feb 16, 2010 10:04 AM:

" Shouldn't that be 'Car collides 'with' poll'? "

danal wrote on Feb 16, 2010 9:52 AM:

" It is very apparent that our God Fathers of our town have too much $Money, $power, use our “$Rapid Transit System” and do not drive much. “OR” do they have some other personal reason or benefit for putting cement in the middle of the streets. Is this going to be another Rail Road Crossing where after so many people get hurt or die that the cement will be removed for an orderly movement of vehicles on our city streets with the minimum of obstacles? After the construction was completed, the areas of Acoma and McCulloch reminded me of the carnival ride called “Bumper Car”. "

northbound wrote on Feb 16, 2010 9:38 AM:

" Yes dbld your right it was a waste of money. I also drive that road several times a week and have only seen one person use it to cross the road. I would think the city would be concerned for their citizens saftey and have the transit pull into the senior center parking lot to pick up and drop off. "

Leslie wrote on Feb 16, 2010 9:37 AM:

" Exactly what 'can' HRMC handle if they have to fly out "a nosebleed, a cut to her left knee and complained of pain on the right side of her body"?? "

danal wrote on Feb 16, 2010 9:14 AM:

" I too, wondered when and how many cars or motor cycles would hit the crosswalk. Another place "will be" on Mccullock because of someone's "desire" for (chuckle, chuckle) landscaping???. Nothing should ever be put in the traffic's lane. Control the areas with lights and slow up signs would be cheaper and less life threatening. The only reason for these future accident areas is because "They could & Did" with our easy money. "

Dubld wrote on Feb 16, 2010 8:08 AM:

" Clearly, driving skill is at fault.
I do have to admit, I've NEVER actually witnessed anybody using that crosswalk & I drive that route everday for work.
To me, it was a waste of money like so many other pet projects in this town. Why not just have the transit stop AT the senior center or in front of it? I guess making a left hand turn into that drive would've been to much... "

northbound wrote on Feb 16, 2010 7:05 AM:

" I do hope this driver will be ok
I wondered how long it would take for someone to hit that concrete crosswalk safety island once they put it in. So far 2 vehicles have hit it after not even a year of it being there. Attempting to navigate the curve in the roadway is a good explanation for one doing over the 25mph limit so I can see her trying to do that. But when she attempted to hit the brake pedal of her vehicle, she missed. She also told police she was focused on the floorboard of the vehicle at the time of the crash. How many times does someone miss the break pedal it's right next to your gas pedal. My point here is travel the speed limit and bad things should not happen. "

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