Jef Nickerson
A 74-year-old grandmother was killed by a hit-and-run driver Sunday evening while she was crossing the street with her 31-year-old granddaughter, on Broadway near the intersection with Marshall Street, the police said.
The police are seeking a newer-model, black SUV — either a Cherokee or an Explorer, Providence Police Lt. Richard Fernandes said.
[Lt. Fernandes] doesn’t know yet whether they were in a crosswalk when they were struck around 5:05 p.m.
If she was crossing Broadway, there is not a crosswalk at Marshall Street, pedestrians are expected to walk a block in either direction so as not to interupt the free flow of automobile traffic.
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Unmarked crosswalk be darned, not that law, or crosswalk markings would necessarily have made a difference, my guess is that this couple was crossing legally based on below statutes. There is definitely incentive for that driver to not get caught at this point. 1 year license suspension and $1000 fine for striking and killing someone in a crosswalk. Never mind the hit-and-run penalties.
§ 31-18-4 […] (b) Whenever there are no markings to the contrary, there shall be a presumption that there is an unmarked crosswalk at any intersection.
§ 31-18-3 Right-of-way in crosswalk. – (a) When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk […] (b) Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in § 31-41.1-4 and in addition to any other penalty provided by law, a judge or magistrate shall impose a mandatory fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for a second or any subsequent violation of this section.
§ 31-18-5 Crossing other than at crosswalks. – Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.