Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by George64
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: Scersk '97 (---.dyn.optonline.net)
Date: June 24, 2014 09:45AM
The more I learn about this accident, the angrier I get.
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: Kyle Rose (---.customer.alter.net)
Date: June 26, 2014 11:48AM
If I were a betting man, I'd wager the driver did not make the turn toward Seneca because he was going too fast at the bottom of the hill and feared a rollover. It's not clear how many pedestrians were on the east end of the Commons at the time, but under the circumstances the building may have been the best option.
Whoever is responsible for the maintenance and loading of the truck is where the fault here mainly lies, but Ithaca has a responsibility to configure its roads such that deaths are not a sliver of poor judgment away. I always assumed this philosophy is why there is, for instance, always a car parked directly in front of Chapter House: a runaway vehicle would be less likely to reach the bar with 4000# of metal blocking it.
Whoever is responsible for the maintenance and loading of the truck is where the fault here mainly lies, but Ithaca has a responsibility to configure its roads such that deaths are not a sliver of poor judgment away. I always assumed this philosophy is why there is, for instance, always a car parked directly in front of Chapter House: a runaway vehicle would be less likely to reach the bar with 4000# of metal blocking it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2014 11:48AM by Kyle Rose.
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: Josh '99 (---.nyc.res.rr.com)
Date: June 26, 2014 02:49PM
The link that Scersk posted mentioned that the truck driver had to be interviewed through a translator, which at first suggested to me that maybe he wasn't able to read signs directing him to turn onto Seneca, but from a check on Google Street view (images as of last fall), there don't look to be any signs indicating that that's what he should have done. Theoretically, if he were headed to Ithaca College, the sign would have directed him to head down State Street, but it's not clear where he was trying to get to I don't think.Kyle Rose
If I were a betting man, I'd wager the driver did not make the turn toward Seneca because he was going too fast at the bottom of the hill and feared a rollover. It's not clear how many pedestrians were on the east end of the Commons at the time, but under the circumstances the building may have been the best option.
Whoever is responsible for the maintenance and loading of the truck is where the fault here mainly lies, but Ithaca has a responsibility to configure its roads such that deaths are not a sliver of poor judgment away. I always assumed this philosophy is why there is, for instance, always a car parked directly in front of Chapter House: a runaway vehicle would be less likely to reach the bar with 4000# of metal blocking it.
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: Kyle Rose (---.customer.alter.net)
Date: June 26, 2014 04:45PM
Josh '99
The link that Scersk posted mentioned that the truck driver had to be interviewed through a translator, which at first suggested to me that maybe he wasn't able to read signs directing him to turn onto Seneca, but from a check on Google Street view (images as of last fall), there don't look to be any signs indicating that that's what he should have done. Theoretically, if he were headed to Ithaca College, the sign would have directed him to head down State Street, but it's not clear where he was trying to get to I don't think.Kyle Rose
If I were a betting man, I'd wager the driver did not make the turn toward Seneca because he was going too fast at the bottom of the hill and feared a rollover. It's not clear how many pedestrians were on the east end of the Commons at the time, but under the circumstances the building may have been the best option.
Whoever is responsible for the maintenance and loading of the truck is where the fault here mainly lies, but Ithaca has a responsibility to configure its roads such that deaths are not a sliver of poor judgment away. I always assumed this philosophy is why there is, for instance, always a car parked directly in front of Chapter House: a runaway vehicle would be less likely to reach the bar with 4000# of metal blocking it.
If he's carrying cars, route 13 is the most likely destination.
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: Scersk '97 (---.dyn.optonline.net)
Date: June 26, 2014 09:23PM
Josh '99
Theoretically, if he were headed to Ithaca College, the sign would have directed him to head down State Street, but it's not clear where he was trying to get to I don't think.
Supposedly he had a pickup to make in Ithaca. What piqued my ire was that he turned from Mitchell (366) onto State (79), which implies he was coming from somewhere east or northeast of campus. To get to 366, he probably came in from, say, Cortland along 13: why not continue on 13 instead of head into town the way he did? Bad directions? Stupidity? The need to cut a few miles?
What bugs me, because of the geometries and topographies involved, is that 79 into Ithaca is open to heavy truck traffic at all. As the local legislator (I forget which) mentioned, you can't close state routes to trucks because it impedes interstate commerce. You know, that thing that is the end-all and be-all of this damn society. Damn localities, damn safety, damn aesthetics, damn the environment, damn quietude—heavy trucks must be allowed to roam free, because otherwise we'll all turn into communists!
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: George64 (---.rochester.res.rr.com)
Date: June 28, 2014 11:13AM
Truck that hit Simeon's had numerous prior brake violations. Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: RatushnyFan (---.nwrknj.fios.verizon.net)
Date: July 01, 2014 12:25PM
I walked by Simeon's this past weekend when I was in town dropping my kids off at hockey camp. What a tragedy, RIP Amanda Bush.
This article indicates that the truck driver consider driving straight into the Commons but saw construction workers who would have been hit: Accident Description
Walking by the area and considering the options he had at that point.......not fun to think about.
This article indicates that the truck driver consider driving straight into the Commons but saw construction workers who would have been hit: Accident Description
Walking by the area and considering the options he had at that point.......not fun to think about.
Re: Bartender killed, Simeon's destroyed in runaway truck accident
Posted by: David Harding (---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: August 03, 2014 12:00PM
Owners of Cornell Barber Shop in basement sue for damages. [ithacavoice.com]
Simeon's rebuilding
Posted by: David Harding (---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 19, 2015 12:27AM
The rebuilding of Simeon's is well under way, Brian Crandall reports. The restaurant is expanding to the second floor. The apartments above will be luxury-scale. The exterior will be a faithful reconstruction.
Simeon's reopening ribbon-cutting celebration
Posted by: David Harding (---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: September 28, 2016 08:59PM
The Ithaca Voice reports on Simeon's reopening celebration planned for Thursday. They started service again at the end of August.
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