A stretch of Blackstone is notorious for the number of jaywalkers. Wednesday night pedestrians and bicyclists in Fresno got a reminder of how dangerous it can be if they don't follow the rules of the road.
Around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night police say a man was riding his bike, ran a stop sign and came out into traffic. Eyewitnesses told police the cyclist ran into a car. The man was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with head injuries. He was last listed in critical condition.
"It's a bit ironic but today on the Blackstone corridor the traffic bureau began their traffic enforcement of this very type of traffic violation," Lt. Anthony Martinez said.
Fresno Police officers monitored several intersections throughout the city, looking for jaywalkers and bike riders who don't follow traffic laws. They gave out 163 citations.
They're hoping to prevent more collisions like the one last night. Officers say last year, Fresno had 12 deadly collisions involving pedestrians or bicyclists.
"Pedestrians belong in a crosswalk. Just because you're in a crosswalk you're not surrounded by an iron curtain. You still need to pay attention when you get the walk signal and you need to look both directions. At the same time motorists who see someone at a crosswalk are to yield," Sgt. Richard Tucker said.
Crackdowns like these have been scheduled every month because of last year's high numbers. They're meant to remind people to use crosswalks and follow traffic signals. They also want to remind bike riders to follow the same traffic rules as cars.
