woman hit by car

[cripple4life]

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Annapolis police say charges are pending against a driver who struck and killed a woman in a wheelchair Thursday afternoon.
The collision happened about 12:50 p.m. in the 900 block of West Street.

Police identified the victim as 56-year-old Marla Marie McFarland. First responders took her to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where she was was pronounced dead.

[crypticgimp]

sad. i see so many ppl in power chairs on busy streets and they can easily get hit. :/

[MarkB701]

I sorta see the other side.

AB's get hit by cars all day long, as pedestrians, cyclists etc. I have never heard of a chair getting hit. And why shouldn't chairs get hit by cars from time to time...? It would be strange if it never happened. Accidents are accidents, and they are all regrettable. This driver doesn't deserve any more or less blame simply because she hit a chair.

[Katja]

Wheelchair users are frequently hit by cars because they are forced out onto street due to the lack of accessible sidewalks. This tends not to happen to ambulatory pedestrians.

News reports usually cast these stories not as accessibility issues, but by portraying the wheelchair user as incompetent or foolish for riding in the street.