‘Thank God that I’m alive’: Survivor of hit-and-run in Rochester speaks out, credits helmet for saving his life
Jose Roman was hit by a car on Lyell Avenue in Rochester. (Provided photo)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Jose Roman showed News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean the shocking video of him being hit by a minivan while riding his scooter on Lyell Avenue and Child Street in Rochester.
“Boom! You see? Bang! Hit the pole,” Roman described as he watched the video.
The minivan veered into Roman’s bike, throwing his body into a utility pole.
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “How are you feeling right now?”
Roman, survived hit-and-run: “On a scale of one to 10, probably like an eight.”
Brean: “Eight being bad, right?”
Roman: “Bad yeah, the pain.”
Roman credits his helmet for saving his life.
Brean: “Why do you think this minivan drove into you?”
Roman: “Probably unconsciousness, carelessness probably.”
The hit-and-run happened right in front of a Rochester fire station. Roman says the firefighters came running to help him. He’s accustomed to driving his scooter in the bike lane on Lyell Avenue because of the erratic traffic in the driving lane. Roman did not file a report with RPD and didn’t explain why.
Nationally, in one out of every four people hit and killed, the car that hits them drives away. The number of people killed when they were hit by cars, vans, and trucks has gone from 4,000 to 7,000 in a decade, according to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS.
Berkeley Brean: “Why do you think we’re seeing more pedestrians hit and more pedestrians killed?”
Jessica Cicchino, senior vice president for research at IIHS: “So we’ve been seeing more drivers speeding. More drivers not paying attention to the rules of the road.”
“Thank God that I’m alive but what if it would have been different? You’ve got to be a little but more conscious. A little more aware,” Roman said.
The IIHS believes traffic speed cameras and red light cameras at intersections reduce speeds and running red lights, therefore reducing the number of people hit if they’re walking or riding on a bike. The city of Rochester removed red light cameras about 10 years ago. The rationale is that it was saddling people with fines who couldn’t afford them and unfair because there were no cameras in the suburbs.
The City of Rochester is in year one of a plan called Vision Zero. The goal is to eliminate all crashes that hurt and kill people.
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