Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/17/1758.asp

5/17/2007

Red Light Camera Incident Sends Woman to Hospital
Red light and speed cameras are directly involved in accidents in Texas, North Carolina and the UK.

Red light and speed cameras were directly involved in collisions in Texas, North Carolina and the UK over the past week. In Fayetteville, North Carolina a red light camera struck a woman, sending her to the hospital with critical injuries. Danielle Christina Polumbo, 20, is accused of driving drunk on Bragg Boulevard at 1:40am today. According to WRAL-TV, Polumbo swerved into a red light camera pole, sending the heavy device down onto the vehicle's roof. Emily Elizabeth May, 24, suffered critical injuries from the camera hit and was rushed to Cape Fear Valley Hospital for treatment. Update: May later died of the injuries suffered when the red light camera struck the roof of the 1999 Mustang.

In Longview, Texas, a motorist struck the red light camera on Spur 63 and Marshall Avenue in an incident representing the second time the device has been involved in an accident within weeks. A motorist had backed into the camera while exiting Jucys Hamburgers.

The city of Longview attempted to place concrete barriers around the camera to prevent damage to the malfunctioning ticketing device after it was struck the first time on April 5, but Texas Department of Transportation officials ordered the barriers removed.

"We did ask the city to remove the pillars because (concrete) won't break away safely if a vehicle hits it," a TxDOT official told the Longview News-Journal. "The state cannot allow anything on its rights of way which could cause serious injuries or fatalities."

In the town of Buxton in Derbyshire, UK a speed camera was involved in a collision last week with an imported Ford F-150 pickup truck. The 4700 pound vehicle demolished the £80,000 (US $158,000) ticketing machine, while the driver escaped with minor injuries.

Mark Simlo photographed the scene. Photo used by permission.

Source: Crash Into Red-Light Camera Injures 1 (WRAL-TV (NC), 5/17/2007)

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