The driver was probably texting while driving

I can NOT believe what I've been reading here. As the wife of a Marine, who is from NY...who's been to Afghanistan more than once.... who's risked his life for all of you to speak so... selfishly about this poor person! Regardless of who is at fault, someone lost his life. Someone who was young, still had so much to live for, who had a wife, a mother, a father, a family! He just returned from Afghanistan (a 9 month tour). To die for what? As a wife of a marine, I've been through deployments waking up every day expecting a ring on my doorbell telling me that something horrible has happened to my husband. But the day he comes home from those awful places, that feeling in the pit of my stomach goes away. I can tell you that his poor wife was NOT expecting that dreadful doorbell ring yesterday morning! So go ahead and keep ranting about crosswalks, cab drivers, speed limits, was he drinking (probably, but did he deserve to die?!!). Then think about your family, yourself and how you would feel if you were in this situation. And then... impact it with what she just went through for the past nine months. He JUST got home a few weeks ago. While all of you were sleeping warm in your beds this man was sleeping on the floor, outside. Not showering for months at a time. Eating MRE's which I'm sure most of you don't know what those are... they're horrible. And, he was waking up every day wondering if he was going to get shot at, or step on an IED. He lost his best friend  to an IED. He saw many of his friends die this way. He made it out of Afghanistan alive! Do you think he DESERVED to die because "whoever" wasn't paying attention to "whatever"? Have some respect people! And this Memorial Day while you're all enjoying a day off work, or working.... Remember what it's really about..... and maybe you can adopt a Marine or soldier over there and write them a letter or send them a box :). They need all the support they can get.

While we're all slinging blame back and forth like mud pies, let's heave a little at the cab driver for dropping them off a block away from a crosswalk and not insisting that everyone exit on the curb side of the cab.

This is true. Cabs often make poor decisions about where to stop to either pick up or drop off passengers.

would YOU try to tell a (possibly) drunk Marine what to do?

News reports claimed that neither the Marine nor the driver were intoxicated.

things like this are always sad.  

As are the resulting comments.

Not a surprise that the liberals come out to blame the victim, a US Marine, who risks his life to protect us. I'm sure if the victim was an african muslim immigrant, these haters would be singing a different tune.

liberals are anti-car (bad for the environment, etc.) so they are blaming the driver, nice try though.

no one is blaming the victim

I am not blaming the victim at all. I almost got hit by a car crossing a side street the other day because I underestimated the speed of the car. That was totally my fault, the car had the right of way. No doubt the car in this case was speeding, because who really goes 35 on the WSH, but the victim also should not have been trying to cross where he did.

I'm willing to bet the Marine comes from some place where the drivers are a lot more considerate towards pedestrians and yield to them as the law requires. He probably wasn't aware that mowing down pedestrians is practically considered a sport in NYC.

There are very visible 30mph signs posted all along that particular stretch of the West Side Hwy. In fact, there's a 30mph sign exactly where the Marine was killed @ 49th St.

dude...

Totally weird thread here.  On one side, we have car-haters who want to elimnate all cars from the city, as if that were an option, thereby preventing this tragic death. Bizarre.  On the other hand, we have people who say he's a jerk for crossing a highway and pretty much deserved it, so screw him.  Also bizarre.  Man, it is what it is...a sad and tragic accident, apparently the unhappy result of a combination of random events, timing, etc.  Condolences to the Marine's family.

Nice attempt to smooth it out Billy. You saw my comment yesterday about automobiles - just another example of the most destructive force ever introduced to the planet. One of 40,000 Americans killed each year by a car - but let's pretend it was all "just an accident".

Smooth this out, drew.  You are off topic, and drawing attention to a completely ridiculous post you made yesterday, in an unrelated story.  Way to stay topical.  BTW, since you brought it up (thanks) your post yesterday was the most shortsighted string of words I'd seen in quite awhile.  That makes two days in row, now.  Keep up the awesome work, we appreciate it.  Now get on your tricycle, and beat it. : )

Automobiles kill 40,000 Americans each year - a number that has been consistent over  many years now. This is the number of dead ONLY in the US (not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Americans maimed and permanently injured each year by autos).Aside from all the dead people, you can throw in global warming, our country's continued forays into Middle East madness because of oil, and the obesity epidemic that has swept our land -- all directly attributable to the automobile. And that's just the tip of the melting iceberg!Yes, goods and services still need to be delivered to the people. There is a need for service trucks - although trains are safer and  more efficient. Perhaps a clarification is in order: the personal automobile is the single greatest destructive force ever introduced to the planet. Off-topic? I don't think so.But "it is what it is", right Billy? Let's all keep pretending.

ZZZZzzzz....

Yep.  Still off-topic, drew.  It belongs on yesterday's post, not one about about a young marine getting friggin' run over, for Christ's sake.  Okay, I'll admit that if there were no cars in the world, the Marine would not have gotten hit.  Unfortunately for him, and for you apparently, that's never going to happen. So meanwhile, back in reality, where most of us reside, it's still a tragic accident.

Just be sure to tell this dead person's family "it is what it is". I'm sure that will comfort them.