ACCOZZAGLIA

I put together a simple site analysis of a street intersection in Montréal where, in 2009, I was struck by a car running a red light. According to the citation, there was some dispute as to whom had the right of way (from my vantage, there was no dispute), but this was dismissed by the municipal court earlier today once it was revealed the SPVM officers not only never took my statement that day (they did visit me in hospital, only to jot down my contact details), but also failed to provide me with any materials or evidence put together beforehand.

In short, it’s over, and the case was de facto dismissed in my favour.

Unfortunately, the magistrate would not allow the use of graphic aids unless they were printed out beforehand. This made presenting my case notably difficult. So to avoid it going completely to waste, here’s a taste of what I prepared (the image below links to a PDF slide show that was ultimately impermissible for use in my defence).

Should you ever get close to this poorly designed intersection, make a detour and take that instead. This intersection’s just not worth it. [graphics by Astrid Idlewild; map by Bing]

[P.S.: To the fly-by attorney, Sara, who helped me make sense of the Crown's request to drop the case: you are awesome and you made my day, wherever you are.]

A green light on rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal, with sunlight altitude and azimuth identical to the moment of impact on 21 October 2009
[photo: Astrid Idlewild, 21 February 2011]