MichaelSichok

Spot News - Friday Afternoon Accident.

Ok, bear in mind that I am NOT a "real" reporter, outside of my newswriting class at Seton Hill University. However, there was an accident outside my apartment this afternoon, and I decided to write a short spot-news piece on what I found. I did not feel comfortable talking to police, fire or ambulance personnel, as the woman was injured and taken away in an ambulance. However, I did talk to several pedestrians at the scene, to at least get a few quotes, as to what may have happened. However, nobody that I talked to was completely positive on the causes, as they were NOT there as witnesses, just as passersby. Here goes nothin'....

Friday Afternoon Accident Injures Driver, Concerns Residents.

An unidentified woman was injured on Friday afternoon, in a traffic accident at the intersection of East Otterman and South Maple, downtown Greensburg. The woman, driving a four-door sedan apparently collided with a delivery van. The cause of the accident is unknown, leading to speculation amongst local residents and pedestrians.

"It looks like she either ran the light or made the wrong turn down Otterman," said Dean Papapetrou, nearby resident. "She was hit by a van, and slid into the curb, it looks bad" said Papapetrou.

"People are always making that wrong turn, they think Otterman is a two-way street," said an anonymous pedestrian, after the accident. "There are signs, but I don't think people pay attention to what they're doing half the time," she said in speculation to the causes of the accident.

Despite recent inclement weather, snow and ice did not seem to be a factor in this accident, given that the road surface was clean and dry. However, with the increasing amount of city traffic, a local resident felt that such accidents are not out of the ordinary.

"It looks like she got t-boned right there at the intersection, somebody ran that light," remarked Butch, a bystander who would not provide his last name. "Too much traffic in this city... there's an accident nearly every week. Greensburg wasn't designed to handle this sort of traffic, it's turning into Pittsburgh," said Butch, in reference to the major metropolitan area 30 minutes west of Greensburg. "I just hope she's alright," continued Butch. "She had a dog in the car as well," he said.

Greensburg Police and Fire crews responded to the accident, which occured at approximately 2:30 in the afternoon. East Otterman was blocked off for a short period of time as the woman was extracted from her vehicle and transported to Westmoreland Hospital via ambulance. Injuries to the other driver were not immediately known, although there were not paramedic or ambulance crews near his vehicle, which came to a rest near the scene of the accident. The woman's vehicle was later towed away, while the van was apparently drivable.

Posted by MichaelSichok at November 25, 2005 03:39 PM