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Pedestrian killed while he crosses Meridian
San Jose man, 47, was hit by two cars
By Kate Carter
A San Jose man died on Nov. 17, when he was hit by two different cars while crossing Meridian Avenue.
The coroner's office identified the victim as Teklao Haile, 47, of San Jose.
Police said Haile tried to cross from the east side to the west side of Meridian Avenue at Willow Street, against the red signal light at 8:23 p.m.
Police Investigator Karl Pringle said witnesses reported that Haile appeared to be trying to flag down a bus. He was standing on the signal light island on the east side of Meridian Avenue when he saw a bus passing through the intersection, traveling southbound on Meridian. He was seen running across the street, diagonally across the southbound lanes away from the intersection, Pringle said. The crosswalk lines are not painted on the intersection, as the road has recently been repaved.
The driver in the left southbound lane, Nader Hekmati, 25, of Los Altos, hit Haile with his 1997 Kia Sportage first. Haile then spun off the car and was hit by the driver in the right southbound lane, Michael Morgan, 40, of San Jose, with his 1992 Chevrolet Blazer. Police said the signal was green for traffic traveling north-south on Meridian Avenue at the time.
The drivers of both cars stopped.
The bus Haile appeared to be trying to catch also stopped at the bus stop about 60 or 70 feet south of the intersection. Pringle said it was unclear if it stopped because of the accident, because it was unloading or picking up passengers, or because it was responding to Haile.
Pringle believe Haile was alone and was probably on his way to work.
Police dispatchers received two phone calls about the accident, one from a nearby restaurant and one from Morgan on his cell phone. Police arrived on the scene at 8:25 p.m., Pringle said.
Paramedics pronounced Haile dead at the scene.
The coroner's office said the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries. An autopsy won't be complete for several weeks, a coroner's office representative said.
Pringle said his investigation into the cause of the accident and the identification of who is at fault could take as long as six months.
Traffic was restricted from the intersection one block in every direction from the time of the accident until 12:47 a.m. on Nov. 18, Pringle said.
Police rerouted traffic through the Curci Drive intersection with Minnesota Avenue to the north and the Westwood Drive intersections with Minnesota and Willow Street to the south, east and west.
"We've had quite a few pedestrian accidents this year," Pringle said. "Most people just don't look. Especially at nighttime, people can't judge speeds."
Pringle said that pedestrians should not cross against red lights, should wear light-colored clothing at night, and should always check both ways for traffic before entering the street.
He pointed out that a car going 30 miles per hour travels 44 feet per second.
"The time it takes you to cross the intersection, a vehicle will have gone that far," he said. "You've got to think about that."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
