FARMINGTON — A pedestrian talking on her cell phone was struck by a turning pickup truck in the center of downtown Farmington on Friday morning.
Jillian Benson, 19, of Farmington was injured after stepping out into the street to cross Broadway in front of TD Bank. She was approximately 10 feet east of the crosswalk when she stepped from the sidewalk and into the path of the truck.
Blaine Blodgett, 49, of Norridgewock was making a left turn from Main Street onto Broadway when his 2004 Chevrolet pickup struck the girl at about 9:45 a.m. Blodgett was turning on a green light, according to Farmington police Officer Matthew Hunt's report.
Ron Gelinas of Mainestone Jewelry, a shop near the scene, said he didn't see the accident happen but was outside the shop and was one of the first to reach Benson's side. He kept her talking as they waited for police and a NorthStar ambulance to arrive, he said.
Benson, a student at the University of Maine at Farmington, was still being treated at midafternoon at Franklin Memorial Hospital, according to a hospital representative.
Police interviewed other pedestrians at the scene but were not finding anyone who saw the incident happen.
Hunt spoke to Benson at the hospital, and she told him that she was talking on her cell phone at the time, said Farmington police secretary Bonnie Pomeroy.
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I bet she just walked out
I bet she just walked out between A couple other parked cars right in front of Blaine...I KNOW IF Blaine would have seen her he would have stopped.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.She wasn't in the cross walk
She wasn't in the cross walk when she started to cross the street but, the driver is still responsible.
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Can people no longer function without these phones glued to their hands and ears? I have had many close calls on the road by people that almost hit me because they're on the phone! Even when I'm shopping, I've been nailed by grocery carts by people just yacking away! I have a cell phone as well as a blue tooth. If someone calls me while I'm on the road and even shopping, I stop, get out of the way and finish my conversation. But I am not glued to this phone and refuse to be. There is life beyond that phone people!! And it is a much safer one!!
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Seems like kids today growing up have no common sense or awareness of other people around them.They are in there only little world paying attention to only what interests them and they don't care about anything else.Of course if anything happens to them or they get into trouble,who's to blame?someone else of course not them.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Whatever happened to 'LOOK
Whatever happened to 'LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING A ROAD' ???
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It goes both ways, as the parent of two students at UMF, I have seen both, the oblivious college student with the ipod and cell phone not paying attention, but also, the distracted driver chatting on their cell phone, or worse yet, the drivers who just don't stop, regardless of the fact that a student (or any pedestrian) has started across the street. Drivers do need to realize that once someone has started to cross the street, you need to stop, period, it's not a game of chicken, and no one needs to be taught a lesson, just use the brains God gave you--EVERYONE.
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It goes both ways, as the parent of two students at UMF, I have seen both, the oblivious college student with the ipod and cell phone not paying attention, but also, the distracted driver chatting on their cell phone, or worse yet, the drivers who just don't stop, regardless of the fact that a student (or any pedestrian) has started across the street. Drivers do need to realize that once someone has started to cross the street, you need to stop, period, it's not a game of chicken, and no one needs to be taught a lesson, just use the brains God gave you--EVERYONE.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Crosswalks are made for a
Crosswalks are made for a reason and should be used. If you need to talk on the cell phone stay on the sidewalk and do it One needs to pay more attention to traffic coming from Main Street to Broadway as it is sort of a blind corner when turning. Sorry she got hit and hope she is okay. The college kids do not pay attention and seem to think they own the town. The lights down on Main Street are also there for a reason SAFETY but most of the kids do not use them they just walk out into traffic with no regard for the vechiles coming up the hill or down the street from in town.Last week a girl came out and walked right out in front of a tractor trailer coming down Main street toward Abbott Hill and when he stopped she was within a few inches of his front bumper and she just kept walking. She was lucky as these trucks cannot stop as quick as a car. Something needs to be done to make them use the crosswalk lights before someone gets hit or killed then they blame the driver.
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