Hit & Run Over & Over & Over

Something weird is going on in Bakersfield lately and I’m not just talking about the rain. I’m talking about all the people getting run over around here. While reading the paper yesterday I noticed three separate articles involving someone being struck by a car and now today there’s another one.

In the first incident, a woman pushing a baby carriage was hit by an SUV and killed. Luckily the baby was unharmed. The vehicle did not stop after striking the woman.
The next article is also about a hit-and-run. According to the paper, “California Highway Patrol officers found the body of Jacinto Martinez, 38, laying in the street on South Union Avenue south of Panama Lane at nine minutes after midnight Sunday.”
That is so awful – maybe not quite as bad as what this lady did, but still awful.

The third article is also about a person being killed by a car, but in this case the driver had stopped. A 25-year-old woman was killed Sunday night while crossing Eye St. The police suspect the driver was under the influence of alcohol. Of course, I think the cops around here suspect everyone is under the influence of alcohol at all times.

The final incident is definitely the worst. Apparently Byron Wooten, 20, and Ronnie Hill, 22, were arguing while Wooten was sitting in his car. The police were called and a small group of children gathered to watch. Suddenly Wooten took off down the street, flipped a U, then headed straight for Hill. One boy was killed, Hill and another boy were hurt and two other boys “were dragged behind the car for at least three blocks.” Wooten then stopped got out and tried to make a run for it, but neighbors managed to stop him until the police arrived. The article says Wooten and Hill may be cousins. Obviously not of the kissing variety.

Take heed Bakersfieldians - our streets are not safe. Evidently neither are the sidewalks.