CalTrans recently claimed hiway 50 in the city of South Lake Tahoe was a safe enough road at 35 mph to increase the speed to 40 mph. To many pedestrians have died on hiway 50 on south shore in the last 10 years or so. I guess a life is pretty cheap on south shore when CalTrans has its way. Wonder what will happen if every light on 50 is ripped out and the speed limit is 25 mph in the city limits?

From the comments I see people blaming Caltrans and the city for the lack of lighting… How about we blame the driver for driving on a suspended license and being under the influence. How about we blame the pedestrian for not crossing at a crosswalk, wearing dark clothing, not yielding to a vehicle and possibly being under the influence. The people involved caused this to happen not the highway or lighting conditions.

John and Steven: The driver had a previous DUI and was arrested for driving under the influence for this accident. The main culprit is the drunk driver and society unwillingness to severely punish those caught with a DUI. While the pedestrian made a poor choice crossing the street at night, had the driver not been toasted, the accident may have been averted.

The worst thing you can do is reduce the speed limit in this section to accommodate what appears to be someone driving while impaired. Might have to slow it down to 5mph for drunk folks.

Rick

As a frequent visitor of South Lake Tahoe (I am a North Shore guy)
A few observations
The Driver, No idea how drunk or impaired he was. Would it have made a difference? He is now in big trouble. Like many people he chose to risk driving while suspended. And he lost.
The poor guy who got hit. We don’t have the detail on his condition. How many of us have come across some dunk wasted ass walking, staggering, running into an unlit street in the dark. From what I read he was not doing it right, and paid the ultimate price.
Hwy 50 from Stateline all the way around to Emerald Bay. OMG!! That is not a pedestrian friendly stretch of road. 1 section is trying to encourage foot traffic, and two block later it’s a night mare. Some places it’s a good half mile to a crossing area. Bike paths and sidewalks in the summer but in winter there are spots where you have to walk into the streets around snow banks or down the side of the road in constant danger.
Some places and some times of year the speed limit should be 20 and sometimes 50. There is no right speed all the time.
Bottom line its not really easy of safe to travel on foot or bike in South Lake Tahoe. (Try it you will not like it)
So I have no solution for you. There is a little bit of blame to spread around for all.
In addition where I live 30 miles north of you, the weather was HORRIBLE last night. Was it not the same in South Lake? Very high wind! Snowing? Just a miserable time to be out after dark.

This unfortunate event happened right outside my work. Last night was a clear night. The pedestrian chose to jaywalk rather than walk a few hundred feet to the crosswalk at 7-11. Yes, this is not the most pedestrian friendly town, but this could have been avoided had the pedestrian chosen to walk just a little further down the road.

The man killed in this tragic incident was my uncle. For those of you commenting negatively on his actions please remember his family is reading this and what you say may be hurtful. All we know of his last few moments is what is written in this article. How many of you have ever walked outside of a crosswalk? And to call or compare him to a dumb wasted ***… Is that really necessary? At least he was making the safer choice to walk instead of drive and potentially kill someone if he was even drinking which is not known for sure. I can tell you he had faults but what I can also tell you was he was an amazing musician and one hell of a story teller. He took my brother and I on several adventures in our childhood that I will remember fondly for the rest if my life. Without a doubt he loved his family. Uncle Johnny- we love you and will miss you and pray that you are resting in peace.

So sorry for the loss of this person, I know it must be hard at this time, My condolences to the family, I do not like the speed limit here ,There are children at stake also ,hopefully this does not happen to a child ,or a animal, this is Lake Tahoe ,not a city,R I P.slow down.

Taylor: Am very sorry for the loss of your uncle. I cannot imagine what you and his family are going through. My heart and prayers are with you in this difficult time.

As30 year local… I am in no way making excuses for the driver. He takes fault because he also should not have been on the road. He will most likely face manslaughter charges if it found he was drinking. Blame will be cast but this man’s family will never get their son/uncle/father/brother back. My sincerest condolences to the family. I mean no disrespect. I too am a long time local and to often I see people making these same tragic mistakes. We as individuals need to take personal responsibility for our safety. Cross at crosswalks, wear light and reflective clothing at night and above all, don’t drink and drive. Just because you may think you are alert, you never know about that other guy who may not be so alert.

Very sad to hear of yet another pedestrian being killed here on the South Shore. I like to walk and bike to work and around town for fun and no matter if it’s daylight or night, I agree with MTT, this town is not pedestrian friendly and is actually very dangerous. Let’s not forget about how many other incidents like this occur here where neither party has been drinking. (One example was the older woman crossing by Grocery Outlet who was killed.) It’s just really, really dark and often really, really tough to get across Hwy 50 or even more dangerous to walk 10 minutes or more to a cross walk when half the time you have to walk in the street to get to one. I feel terrible for both parties and just hope drivers will be more careful and pedestrians will realize that often they cannot be seen. The North Shore is way more pedestrian friendly, you have to go 20 MPH or less in MANY spots due to the tons of well-marked crosswalks with LIGHTS blinking and signs everywhere warning of pedestrians. Anybody ever try to cross in the crosswalk at the Y from the outlets to the “island” where you wait for the light? NO ONE stops for you and people are tearing around the corner, plus the crosswalk lines are nearly invisible. I have to stand there and wait for cars to clear or for the rare person to acknowledge that I am in a marked cross walk. RIP Johnny and my condolences to his family.

My prayers go out to your Uncle, the family and the driver. Why is there so much alcoholism in South Lake Tahoe?

We seem to blame the external causes (street lights, crosswalks, etc.) when alcoholism is pain from the soul.
Reach out to the alcoholic and love them through their pain without judgment or criticism, until they can love themselves and live a happy, loving life. We must have unconditional love for ourselves before we can love others. Peace and Love.

I believe I was with him, just an hour before, if it was who I think it was. He was a great guy, knew him for quite a few years. This is terrible that it happened. Rip Johnny. You will be missed.

John S, I find it hard to believe that having autos traveling adjacent to a sidewalk(literally) going 40 mph is a competent, realistic evaluation. What if your mom/sister, whatever tripped on her shoe laces and fell in the path of an auto going 40 mph? If the auto is going about 25 mph, the chances most likely skyrocket for minimum issues compared to a death. The city of South Lake Tahoe was against the speed limit of 40 mph.

Perry, our whole country has sidewalks next to roads with speeds 40+. You can’t put safeguards for all “what if” scenarios. I think freeways are the only roads that don’t have sidewalks.

This is the problem with a town being built alongside a U.S. Highway. Since there was no planning for a City the storefronts and businesses were built right alongside the Highway and residences were built directly behind those storefronts and businesses. There is no way for the City to change any aspect of this U.S. Highway since it is controlled by Caltrans. While the courtesy of asking the locals their opinions on the conformation of the Highway may be extended, those opinions are largely ignored. Caltrans mostly comes in and advises the City on what they’re going to do, and then they do it.

South Lake Tahoe has a higher rate of alcoholism than the national average.

What is causing alcoholism to be more prevalent in South Lake Tahoe than the national average?

South Lake Tahoe has a higher Suicide rate than the national average, as well as Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. Any ideas on why??

lisrac, name one society in the history of the world that was sober.
humans aren’t even the only animal that seeks out altered states of consciousness.

Rabbits and deer.
Cavemen were sober…. well first off cavemen were neanderthals and not homo sapiens, the most recent record of them is from 35,000 years ago. Second, I was referring to human societies.
Wine in its finished form we know today existed 6000 years ago. Hallucinogenic mushrooms have been used for thousands of years along with peyote, ayahuasca and of course, marijuana.

Humans use drugs, they have for thousands of years. A sober society is a fantasy, it will never happen.
You can’t nerf the world.

FYI
Elephants love the alcohol in melons that ferment naturally. They also seem to have fantastic memory capabilities. So it would seem that the drive to forget some things is what both species have in common.

I often am freaked out by the people who run across Lake Tahoe Blvd. at night wearing black clothing and playing Frogger through the traffic. Really, I see it all the time and I am really worried that I might be the unlucky person who accidentally hits one of these people. Its a shame that this happens, people get hit and killed. Its also a shame how many people run red lights in this town, how many people drive drunk and under the influence of drugs or both, and its a shame that my young son has to fear for his life just driving with me across town.

@thingfish….homo sapiens sapiens also lived in caves. they also mated with neanderthals…recent genetic evidence suggests between 1 and 4 percent of DNA from any individual with eaurasian ancestry is….neanderthal.

I DON’T LIKE THE INCREASED SPEED LIMIT. But it probably didn’t play a part here. Pedestrians are vulnerable to deadly consequences when they cross a major roadway negligently. Here this guy’s age played a part. AT HIS AGE HE IS FOOLING HIMSELF IF HE THINKS HE CAN RUN AS FAST AS WHEN HE WAS YOUNG. Its kind of like stepping on your cars gas peddle, expecting a serge of power, and you don’t get what you need. The guy is dead, and it was his fault. I’m not sorry about him. Bad things happen to people who do nothing wrong. I save my pity for those people.

I had the honor of knowing this talented man who left this world too soon. John was a loving, caring man who had a smile that would light any dark space and he touched my heart in so many ways. I know that he is in peace and crooning with best of them. To his family that loved him so much…my heart is absolutely broken but I am grateful that he was in my life. “Fly me to the Moon” Johnny. God Bless You.