Crosswalk dangerous, but lenient sentence sends the wrong message, some say

Many Seattle residents said they were outraged this week when a municipal court judge on Thursday ordered fines, no driving, and community service for a driver found guilty of hitting and killing a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Ephraim Schwartz will serve no jail time, and if he avoids driving and completes the community service, the conviction will be wiped off his record in two years.

"Where is the incentive for people to drive safely and responsibly?" asked Rebecca Deehr, executive director of Feet First, a pedestrian advocacy group.

"Besides the fines and ticketing that may result from not driving safely and responsibly, there is no incentive," she said.

Deehr said the consequences for drivers like Schwartz do not match "the gravity of ther action." Without consequences, she said, "we can't expect that drivers will take the extra step to put down the latte, stop looking at their cell phone, or to take the other necessary precautions to avoid hitting a pedestrian."

Mathew (Tatsuo) Nakata, 29, was walking to catch a bus to work at City Hall in November 2006 when he was hit at the crosswalk.

Schwartz, 37, who lives near the intersection, was driving his daughter to school, and was busy on his cell phone. He said he never saw the man in the crosswalk.

West Seattle residents who use the crosswalk regularly, or drive on Southwest Admiral Way, a wide and sweeping boulevard, said Saturday it was an accident waiting to happen. Too many drivers are going too fast and are too distracted.

The crosswalk at 47th Avenue Southwest is on a slight hill, at a curve. However, it is marked with flashing lights and bright signs. Since the accident, there are also buckets of fluorescent orange flags for people to carry as they cross.

"They need a traffic light out there, said Josh Trass who works at Alki Mail and Dispatch, a few feet from the crosswalk. "I hear screeching tires all the time. I don't ever cross there, people driving are not paying attention."

But Trass also said the sentence seemed weak, too.

"It seems that he died in vain," he said of Nakata.

A woman having coffee and working on her laptop at the shop, didn't want to give her name, but called the sentence "a sad state of affairs.

"It is really sad that a life is not worth more," she said, then added, "I cross the street myself and find it extremely dangerous."

A man mailing a package said he sees the situation both ways.

"I think the driver was doing what nearly half the people in West Seattle do. I don't think it was particularly malicious. It was an accident. A bad accident."

City Attorney Tom Carr said he is outraged that after two years, the conviction will be erased from the man's record.

Carr said next year he plans to ask the state legislature to eliminate deferred sentences for people who are found guilty of their crimes by juries.

Carr said deferred sentences are appropriate for people who plead guilty to their crimes and accept responsibility. They are not appropriate in cases where people deny their guilt throughout the length of a trial and show remorse only after the jury returns with a guilty verdict, he said.

The Schwartz case was the first guilty verdict under a two-year-old city law, which says a driver can be convicted of assault if he commits a traffic infraction that results in a critical injury or death of a pedestrian.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Schwartz has had multiple driving violations in the past four years. In May 2005, about 18 months before he hit Nakata, Schwartz struck a woman on bike with his car, injuring her. He hit Nakata in November 2006, killing him. About two months later, Schwartz was cited for running a red light. He argued that the road was icy and the ticket was reduced to $69.

Municipal Court judges have dismissed some of the previous cases filed by the city attorney's office, saying it goes agains state law, which requires all vehicle laws to be the same throughout the state.

The decision to dismiss one of those cases will be appealed March 24 in King County Superior Court.

"I would love to deter people from actions that injure other people, like careless and overly aggressive driving. They have to know it can have consequences. I would love this to be a deterrent to get people to slow down and obey the traffic laws. I hope it becomes the law statewide," Carr said.