Robert Novak: "He's not dead, that's the main thing."
Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., on Wednesday morning.
A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation in his hand; a WJLA-TV crew and reporter saw Novak as well. The pedestrian, a 66-year-old male, was hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital with minor injuries, according to DC Fire and EMS. Novak was later released by police and drove away from the scene.
. . .
D.C. police confirmed that there was an accident at 18th and K streets N.W. at approximately 10 a.m. involving a black Corvette convertible and that the driver was a white male. An ambulance was called.
The intersection is in the hub of Washington’s business district and is filled with pedestrians who work in the law firms and lobby shops that line the corridor.
Novak, 77, has earned a reputation around the capital as an aggressive driver, easily identified in his convertible sports car.
In 2001, he cursed at a pedestrian on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th streets Northwest for allegedly jaywalking.
“’Learn to read the signs, [bodily orifice]!’ Novak snapped before speeding away,” according to an item in The Washington Post’s Reliable Source column.
Novak explained to the paper: "He was crossing on the red light. I really hate jaywalkers. I despise them. Since I don't run the country, all I can do is yell at 'em. The other option is to run 'em over, but as a compassionate conservative, I would never do that."
News reports indicate the pedestrian was in a crosswalk, crossing with a walk sign.
Labels: idiots, Pedestrian safety
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
5 Comments:
Heh, the witness who chased Novak down sounds fairly credible.
Mr. Bono is a former trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C...he was lead trial counsel for the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General, and the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Justice in the federal lawsuit that prevented the Exxon Valdez from returning to Prince William Sound, Alaska.
By
MK, at 1:41 PM
You know, in some states, it's a felony.
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Barry, at 2:01 PM
John Novak outed a working CIA agent, Valerie Plame, who was undercover.
Regardless of what I or you may think of the CIA, that qualifies as treason.
A free scofflaw under Bush goes out and runs down pedestrians.
Class act.
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Tony, at 9:55 PM
Drivers in D.C. are nuts.
Eight years ago, this past April, I was nearly run over while crossing in a crosswalk at the stop sign at 21st and I Streets, NW. The driver only stopped her car after my leg was under the front of vehicle -- mainly because I was screaming and banging on the hood. I dragged myself out and to the side, she rolled down her window and said, "Sorry. Didn't see you," and promptly sped away. Suffice it to say, even with a partial license plate, specific car model and color, and driver description, D.C. Metro PD couldn't be bothered to investigate it.
And don't get me started on the tourists, distracted by the "sights," with their noses against their car windows, who routinely run red lights (because they're mounted on the corners, not suspended overhead.
Then you can throw in the motorcades (which won't stop, no matter what -- but at least the sirens give you warning) and the diplomatic staff/families (I had an intern who was hit by a Saudi prince, doing 60-70 around Washington Circle, who was thrown 10-15' into the air by the impact, her purse landing in the rear seat of his convertible -- which is how she found out who put her in the hospital, when the embassy returned her bag).
As far as Novak -- in case anyone doubts it, I can attest to the fact that he's an insufferable prick when he's not driving, too. I thoroughly believe Mr. Bono's statement that the pedestrian was on the hood for a good period of time, despite Novak's initial protestations that he didn't notice the impact -- which later changed to the excuse that the pedestrian lived, so no one should be complaining. Lord forbid, were Novak to be in the crosshairs of a careless motorist, he'd have filed a lawsuit before the car even came to a halt. On the plus side -- 18th & K is very close to GWU Hospital (my office was at the corner of K & Connecticut for a number of years).
And Tony -- Novak wasn't the one who leaked it (he was just the errand boy). I have it from a very high authority that the worst part of the Plame leak was that it resulted in a number of deaths (including some Americans) and the disclosure and abandonment of a number of ongoing operations aimed at independently assessing foreign energy production, monitoring the transfer of dual-use technologies and tracking nuclear materials. All over a 4th grade-level counter-argument (Your wife was the one who suggested you!) to Joe Wilson's op-ed.
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Dan S., at 10:43 AM
Looks like there may have been more to this story:
BOSTON - Conservative political commentator Robert Novak announced Monday he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, less than a week after he struck a pedestrian with his Corvette and drove away.
Novak, 77, fell ill on Cape Cod this weekend while visiting his daughter and was rushed to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he said he was diagnosed Sunday with the tumor....
Dr. Lynne Taylor, a neuro-oncologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, said residents at the hospital are taught to check for brain tumors in patients who report having a recent car accident in which they didn't realize they struck something.
"People get spatial and visual neglect of a certain part of their bodies and they don't realize they've done what they've done," said Taylor, a fellow with the American Academy of Neurology.
...
I don't care for Novak but wish him a speedy recovery.
By
Unknown, at 8:11 PM
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