Jaywalker's death: Motorist acquitted
A magistrate court has acquitted a car driver accused of the death of a youngster in 2017. The latter had met with an accident while crossing the road towards the Marine Drive promenade near Bal Bhavan. The court stated that pedestrians should be careful while crossing the road. “If a person suddenly crosses the road in haste and if an accident occurs… the driver of a vehicle cannot be held responsible for the accident,” it stated.
On December 23, 2017, the victim, Mohammad Nizam Shaikh and his two friends had alighted at Marine Lines railway station. They intended to cross N S Road to get to the promenade. Shaikh crossed the road midway, then climbed the divider and again made an attempt to cross over to the promenade, when the incident occurred. He died of head injuries the next day.
The court noted that there was neither a traffic signal nor a zebra crossing at the spot where the accident occurred. “The oral evidence and the documents show that the deceased and witnesses (his friends) tried to cross the road from a place where there was neither a traffic signal nor a zebra crossing,” the court said. It stated further that first, Shaikh had crossed one side of the road when the vehicles on the road were running and then stayed in the middle, that is, on the divider. Thereafter, he started crossing the other lane of the road, it said, adding that he was in two minds while crossing the road.
If a person suddenly crosses the road in haste and if an accident occurs… the driver of a vehicle cannot be held responsible for the accident, the court ruled.
He suddenly tried to cross the road from a place…therefore it became impossible for the accused to avoid the accident and its impact,” Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate G P Bawaskar said in the order.
The magistrate further stated that Shaikh crossed the road after climbing the divider…”the deceased tried to cross the road suddenly without due care, therefore he met with an accident”.
The court then noted that the accused had stopped the vehicle at the spot and taken Shaikh to the hospital. It held that in the circumstances, it could not be said that the driver was either rash or negligent while driving the vehicle and that he could not be held guilty for the injuries and the death of Shaikh.