Lover’s spat leads to crash
The CNMI saw its second auto-pedestrian crash last Monday along Middle Road in Chalan Lau Lau, with a man being hit by a car after he allegedly deliberately walked into oncoming traffic. It was learned that a couple just had a spat and one tried to cross the street from a local supermarket into traffic, leading to the accident.
Last Monday evening, multiple videos circulated on social media showing a man lying flat on his back, with a woman by his side along Middle Road right across the New XO Market.
The video showed the man being transported by Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel, via gurney, into a nearby ambulance while police blocked off the northbound and southbound access to the road.
It was later learned that the man who was hit just had an argument with his girlfriend, which ultimately led to the accident.
This happened around 15 hours after another man was fatally hit by a car also along the same stretch of the highway.
According to an official press release from the Department of Public Safety, DPS received a call at around 8:48pm last Monday evening reporting another auto-pedestrian incident on Chalan Pale Arnold Road, this time just across New XO Market in Chalan Lau Lau.
Upon arrival, a responding officer saw a male pedestrian in pain and a woman attending to him.
The medics transported the injured pedestrian to the Commonwealth Health Center for further medical treatment.
Fortunately, it was determined that the pedestrian survived the accident but sustained abrasions. He was allegedly under the influence of alcohol when he was hit by the car.
Following a preliminary investigation, police learned that an argument had occurred between the pedestrian and his girlfriend at the XO Market parking lot. The girlfriend left, and the pedestrian crossed Chalan Pale Arnold Road, colliding with a northbound vehicle.
The vehicle’s driver was unharmed and waited for the police to arrive.
Police reported that the pedestrian is a 34-year-old-male and a resident of Dandan, while the driver of the vehicle is a 53-year-old-male from Chalan Kanoa.
Earlier that day, an auto-pedestrian crash along the northbound lane of Chalan Pale Arnold, Gualo Rai, near Paradise Dental. The victim in that incident was immediately brought to CHC but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
DPS says the case remains under further investigation.
The red Toyota RAV4 Adventure that was involved in the crash was being driven by a 66-year-old woman, who told police that she was traveling northbound on Chalan Pale Arnold on the inner lane when she saw a pedestrian walking eastward from the Kid’s Playground building toward the Lin’s Hardware building. The driver said that she saw the pedestrian standing in the middle of the road, so she switched to the outer lane and that’s when she hit him—while she was switching lanes. The driver sustained no injuries.
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