Resident was in crosswalk at Tice Creek Drive

By Mike Wood

Staff writer

Wednesday, June 12 (8:45 a.m.): A female pedestrian suffered numerous injuries after being struck by a golf cart near the intersection of Tice Creek Drive and Stanley Dollar Drive on the morning of June 1.

The resident was, as of last week, in the trauma center at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek and would be hospitalized for some time, her husband told the News. Doctors were determining whether she would require surgery.

She suffered several fractures, including to her left foot, leg, pelvis and ribs, and eye injuries resulting from her glasses in the accident, her husband said.

The woman told Securitas she was walking her dog downhill from Tice Creek Drive toward the intersection shortly before 9 a.m. and was struck by a golf cart in the crosswalk on the Tice Creek side. The driver was making a left turn and said he did not see the woman, according to Securitas reports.

The husband said he was called to the scene thanks to an alert passer-by who saw his wife on the ground.

All parties remained at the scene until emergency responders arrived, the Securitas report stated. The woman was placed on a spine board and taken to the hospital.

For privacy reasons, the News’ policy is to not identify victims of accidents unless they provide permission.

This accident occurred along a stretch of Tice Creek Drive where three vehicle-versus-pedestrian accidents occurred in just over a month’s span in spring 2022, with one man killed and three other pedestrians injured.

The series of accidents prompted the formation of the residents’ organization Neighbors for Safer Streets and the GRF’s implementation of the Tice Creek Pedestrian Safety Project that provided numerous traffic signage and signal enhancements in that area, including radar speed-reading signs and high-visibility crosswalk markers. In December 2023, a resident walking across a Golden Rain Road crosswalk near Oakmont Way was struck by a vehicle but avoided serious injury.

GRF Public Safety Manager Tom Cashion has proposed a widespread pedestrian and vehicle safety study, which he presented at May’s Planning Committee meeting. The study’s scope would be all of Rossmoor and would be a collaboration among the GRF, Walnut Creek Police Department and city engineers, along with the input of residents, he noted, pointing out that many new technologies and devices didn’t exist when the most recent extensive study was done in 2016.

Cashion stresses to all residents that when they use Rossmoor roadways, they must follow all rules of the road, whether they are operating vehicles, bicycles, scooters or golf carts, under the California Vehicle Code.

Staying within the speed limit of 25 mph within Rossmoor and stopping at all stop signs are vital, he added. Pedestrians should make eye contact with drivers to ensure that drivers recognize their presence, and he urged drivers of any vehicle to show more patience and courtesy to others.