I walk by that intersection at 18th and K most weekdays on my way home from work. The Farragut West Metro is at 18th and Eye, one of the entrances anyway, and I work at 19th and M. So to get from 18th & Eye to 19th and M sometimes involves traipsing past 18th & K. Only sometimes, though, because mornings I go through the International Square food court, which lets me emerge at 19th & K. But I-Square closes evenings at 6:00 p.m., and I’m not usually out of work by then. Hence the going around the building, east on K from 19th to 18th, taking a right at 18th.
But that’s in the evenings, so I’m safe apparently from the threat of Bob Novak. Who knew he drives a black Corvette, although what else would the Prince of Darkness drive, yeah? He plowed into a pedestrian today around 10:00 a.m., when I was safely three blocks away. Don’t usually walk by there until many hours later.
And lately anyway I’m only at the intersection, not actually in it, presumably safe on the sidewalk. But I used to cross K at 18th, before they closed the west-side sidewalk between K & L for the construction they’re doing on 1801 K. But even if I were still crossing there, Mr. Novak had to be going north on 18th, turning right to go east on K. I’d only have been in danger had he been turning left. In the evening.
Main thing, though: how do you hit a guy, have him splayed all over your hood, and you don’t even notice? Either you’re lying about not knowing, in which case you shouldn’t be let back behind the wheel, or you’re just that addled generally that you don’t notice guys on your hood, in which case you shouldn’t be behind the wheel. Either way you’re a menace. To pedestrians. To me.
Today I stopped for a while at 18th & K, around 8:00 p.m. (Left work really late.) I looked around for several minutes, trying to find traffic or security cameras, seeing if there was CCTV, like Jane Tennison would do. There’s a traffic cam at 19th & K, but that’s pretty far away, a long block, and I’m guessing all the trees along K would obscure the view anyway. No such camera at 18th & K, darn the luck.
One of the parking garages down 18th has a camera, looks like, but it seems to be more for the pedestrian door that it’s right above. It’s got a pretty good shot of the intersection half a block up. But it’s one of those bubble/eye type deals. What with that and the smoked glass, I couldn’t tell where it’s pointed. Another camera at a garage across the street was clearly pointed down, pointing at the cars going into the garage, not anywhere close to looking up 18th towards K.
Those two cameras were the best I could do. Only other thing of interest was a WJLA (channel 7) van still parked at 18th & K though. No crew or producer or reporter seemed to be around. Wonder where they went, why they left the van there.