Hummer H3 takes one for the team.
09-08-12, 05:45 PM
#1
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Hummer H3 takes one for the team.
A southern Alberta man who is credited with saving four children from being struck by a car says he was acting on instinct when he put his Hummer between them and an alleged distracted driver.
"I could just see, I just had the feeling that something bad was going to happen if something wasn't to stop that vehicle," said Darrell Krushelnicki from Taber.
"There was really no one else, I just had to do it. I had to do what I did."
Krushelnicki, 46, says he was pulling out of the the Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre in Edmonton around 4:25 p.m. Friday when he saw the four children stepping out into the crosswalk.
He says most vehicles stopped for the pedestrians but noticed that one, a silver Pontiac, wasn't slowing down.
Police say the driver was apparently using his cellphone.
Krushelnicki says he pulled his Hummer into the road, colliding with the side of the car and pushing it to the side before it could reach the crosswalk.
"The timing and everything did not seem in favour of a good result. So, I just did what did," he said.
Krushelnicki wasn't injured and says the other driver seemed shaken but not seriously hurt.
The children, who police say range between three and 16 years old, were not injured.
Krushelnicki says he's surprised by the amount of attention the crash has received, saying that he doesn’t think he did anything extraordinary.
"I don't feel like a hero at all. I believe anyone would have done that."
Police have charged a 23-year-old man with dangerous driving.
"I could just see, I just had the feeling that something bad was going to happen if something wasn't to stop that vehicle," said Darrell Krushelnicki from Taber.
"There was really no one else, I just had to do it. I had to do what I did."
Krushelnicki, 46, says he was pulling out of the the Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre in Edmonton around 4:25 p.m. Friday when he saw the four children stepping out into the crosswalk.
He says most vehicles stopped for the pedestrians but noticed that one, a silver Pontiac, wasn't slowing down.
Police say the driver was apparently using his cellphone.
Krushelnicki says he pulled his Hummer into the road, colliding with the side of the car and pushing it to the side before it could reach the crosswalk.
"The timing and everything did not seem in favour of a good result. So, I just did what did," he said.
Krushelnicki wasn't injured and says the other driver seemed shaken but not seriously hurt.
The children, who police say range between three and 16 years old, were not injured.
Krushelnicki says he's surprised by the amount of attention the crash has received, saying that he doesn’t think he did anything extraordinary.
"I don't feel like a hero at all. I believe anyone would have done that."
Police have charged a 23-year-old man with dangerous driving.
This is why I do not talk on the phone and why talking on the phone should be banned (even talking via car speaker or bluetooth earpiece.
There will probably never be a video of this, seeing most lights in Canada do not have cameras.
09-08-12, 06:32 PM
#2
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Sounds like he just needed an excuse to get rid of that gas guzzling clunker and found an opportunity for it. 
Anyone with half a brain would just use the horn to get the attention of both the distracted driver and pedestrians.
Anyone with half a brain would just use the horn to get the attention of both the distracted driver and pedestrians.
09-08-12, 06:51 PM
#4
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One exam for people who choose not to use the phone (get caught with that license and you are on the phone, lose your license for a year) and exam two would be for anyone would want to talk on the phone while driving (must pass the exam to get the license, if you fail you are stuck with no license seeing you choose to go that route and can not revert to the other license). I know I am a ball buster, but hey might save some lives.
09-08-12, 06:56 PM
#5
Guess we should start having driver exams for people who want to drive while talking on the phone.
One exam for people who choose not to use the phone (get caught with that license and you are on the phone, lose your license for a year) and exam two would be for anyone would want to talk on the phone while driving (must pass the exam to get the license, if you fail you are stuck with no license seeing you choose to go that route and can not revert to the other license). I know I am a ball buster, but hey might save some lives.
One exam for people who choose not to use the phone (get caught with that license and you are on the phone, lose your license for a year) and exam two would be for anyone would want to talk on the phone while driving (must pass the exam to get the license, if you fail you are stuck with no license seeing you choose to go that route and can not revert to the other license). I know I am a ball buster, but hey might save some lives.
09-08-12, 07:33 PM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
I doubt in this case honking the horn would have worked. Good that police didn't charge the hummer but the distracted driver. However, I wonder how insurance is going to handle it, as he is technically at fault.
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09-08-12, 09:19 PM
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read the entire article next time before posting half brain comments
09-09-12, 06:25 AM
#10
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I dunno, in this case I'd really like to see a reconstruction of the crash event so we can get a better idea of what actually happened. I have to say that I really wouldn't recommend this type of action generally, because you just never know what's going to happen. Obviously, pedestrians are rightfully what are to be most avoided in a vehicular collision (i.e., if you have to hit something, you hit a car rather than a pedestrian), but it seems iffy that the H3 opted to ram into the side of the moving car. That action could very well have caused the other car to veer out of control and cause a greater accident involving other pedestrians.
09-09-12, 04:02 PM
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How do you figure that driver would look up see the pedestrians and not hit the brakes? That's a pretty big assumption for someone who didn't see the actual incident take place....
09-09-12, 04:25 PM
#12
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in the u.s. the hummer driver would be charged, then sued, and the pontiac driver would not be charged, and make a bundle from the lawsuit. 
09-09-12, 07:20 PM
#13
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I dunno, in this case I'd really like to see a reconstruction of the crash event so we can get a better idea of what actually happened. I have to say that I really wouldn't recommend this type of action generally, because you just never know what's going to happen. Obviously, pedestrians are rightfully what are to be most avoided in a vehicular collision (i.e., if you have to hit something, you hit a car rather than a pedestrian), but it seems iffy that the H3 opted to ram into the side of the moving car. That action could very well have caused the other car to veer out of control and cause a greater accident involving other pedestrians.
I agree we in Canada are not so sue happy and "try" to promote "doing the right thing". Doesn't always work out so well but more times than not, hopefully.
09-10-12, 04:39 PM
#15
Out of Warranty
It points up the increasing hazard of distracted driving. All of the "hands-free" technology in the world doesn't change the fact that the driver's concentration needs to be focused on the evolving situation down the road. You can't phone, text, or otherwise fiddle with buttons without lending that activity some part of your mental focus. That part, even a small one, may kill or maim either you or someone else one day. I know I'm bad about that too, but I'm learning to let messages go to storage, phone calls to voice mail, and even playing with the traffic and GPS systems wait until I can pull into a parking lot, stop and direct my full attention to these tasks.
There can be just too much going on in the "cockpit" of your car today to allow you to prioritize and manage the information before you. In moments you can become so "task saturated", to use the combat pilot's term, that you overlook something deadly. Too many aviators, and I fear drivers too, have succumbed to what crash investigators call a "helmet fire".
There can be just too much going on in the "cockpit" of your car today to allow you to prioritize and manage the information before you. In moments you can become so "task saturated", to use the combat pilot's term, that you overlook something deadly. Too many aviators, and I fear drivers too, have succumbed to what crash investigators call a "helmet fire".
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