On Getting Hit by a SUV while Crossing the Street

We have been hitting it hard at work. I have two buyouts closing any day now--one of which is a three step transaction, which means that it involves three closings. As of today, my billable hour pace is at 2,350/year.

(This is pretty unusual--over the last 7 years I've learned to expect January to be a very slow month.)

This is all to say that I've been staying at the office late to meet deal deadlines. Because our firm is cheap, we don't have Seamless and reimbursement for overtime meals is discouraged. This is how I found myself walking across the street to grab dinner on Wednesday night.

After eating, I walked back to the office. I was walking in the crosswalk under a signal telling pedestrians to walk. An SUV travelling down the same street turned left, struck me from behind, knocked me off my feet (clear out of my shoes) and up into the air and continued down the street without stopping. There were more than ten other cars at the intersection. No one stopped to provide witness information. No one stopped to check if I was okay.

I landed on back and hit my head. I had a concussion and am generally bruised and sore. The items that were in my purse at the time of the accident were busted to smithereens. Fortunately, I have no broken bones.

I filed a police report. The police are looking at surveillance camera footage to see if they can capture the license plate number of the driver that hit me. If they can, the driver will be ticketed for the collision and for leaving the scene of the accident without stopping. I'd also like to ask the driver's insurance company to reimburse my medical expenses.

I emailed the partner that I'm working with immediately to tell him about the accident and that my delivery of work product he was expecting that evening would be delayed. (Frankly, I also thought he might want to review any work I turned in in the immediate aftermath more closely since I had had a concussion.)

Those of you who work or have worked in a law firm environment will probably not be surprised to hear that folks seemed generally annoyed by the delay in the work and that no partner from my group stopped by my office the following day to see if I was doing okay.

The sheer lack of humanity is what bothers me most about this:

• The lack of humanity of the driver. Accidents happen, but to make a conscious decision to run instead of stop after you have hit a pedestrian with your SUV is unforgivable.
• The lack of humanity of the drivers of the ten or more other cars at the intersection. I know that everyone has their nose in their phones these days, but I am hard pressed to believe that not one of these drivers witnessed the incident.