Comic Con Car Accident

Comic Con Car Accident Causes Chaos

A deaf man caused a Comic Con car accident when he plowed his family’s car into pedestrians during ‘Zombie Walk.’  

A Comic Con car accident occurred when a 64-year-old pedestrian was struck by a car driven by a deaf driver during the city’s annual Zombie Walk.  Police say the driver that caused the Comic Con car accident was a deaf man trying to escape the faux-zombie pack with his deaf children in the backseat of his vehicle.  The identity of the driver has not been revealed since the investigation is still ongoing.

As he drove through the crowd, the driver hit the woman with the side of his car.  The woman was not participating in the Zombie Walk.  After striking the woman the driver drove away, fleeing from angry members of walk.  The woman was hospitalized with a serious arm injury. Although this Comic Con car accident may seem cut and dry, it has become increasingly more complicated in determining who was at fault.

The deaf driver is now speaking out in an interview with IDeafNews.   He states that he was confused, scared and feared for his safety when he plowed through the crowd. In an interview he also states that he feels terrible about hurting the woman and is still distressed about what happened. In the interview the driver said he was unaware that a Zombie Walk was happening.  The 48-year-old man had just finished volunteering at Comic-Con and was leaving with his sister, girlfriend and her son. The man said after a motorcycle cop stopped his car to let the zombie walkers pass, he turned off his car engine and waited. He said the whole thing started when participants surrounded his vehicle.

“After they surround my car, I went ahead honking my horn lightly and moved my car slowly,” he said. “I was puzzled with the things that were going on.”

According to the driver, things spiraled out of control when a spectator, who sat on the hood the car, punched the windshield, shattering it, and another spectator opened the back passenger-side door of the car.

“I got scared. That’s when I plowed my car through the crowd,” he said. “I had to do this to save my family because of the crowd. I couldn’t tell if the parade was done.”

In a video of the Comic Con car accident posted on YouTube, a man could be heard screaming, “Flip that car.”

After he drove through, the driver said he went to the closest police officer to tell him about the Comic Con car accident.  He stated that when he spoke to the officer, he did not know that he had hit anyone. He said he felt a bump, but he had to get out of the situation because he was scared and he felt the safety of his family was in jeopardy. He stated that everyone in the car was crying when he spoke to the officer.

“I felt awful about it,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe that I actually hit the old lady.”

After the Comic Con car accident, the driver offered to pay for the victim’s medical expenses. He said he couldn’t sleep and has been distraught since the Comic Con car accident. The driver was not cited and the San Diego Police Traffic Division is still investigating the Comic Con car accident. Critics are now saying that it was not the deaf driver’s fault this Comic Con car accident occurred.  In fact, several lawyers believe San Diego police did not do enough to protect people during annual Zombie Walk. Now, the city of San Diego may now be held responsible for the Comic Con car accident that happened at the end of the annual “Zombie Walk.” “The City created a dangerous condition by not only allowing those people to march down the street, but actually encouraging them,” said attorney Dan Gilleon. Gilleon felt that San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman should not have been walking in the parade.  Additionally, Chief Zimmerman walked with the crowd even though a proper permit was never acquired for the march.  After the Comic Con car accident it was discovered that organizers hadn’t applied for the permit required by San Diego for assemblies and marches that involve more than 75 people.

Gilleon said police should have been at that intersection managing the traffic issues, which might have prevented the incident.

“It was caused by Chief Zimmerman herself promoting an unpermitted parade,” Gilleon said.

Attorney Mia Severson, who has handled several city liability cases, said the city will likely have claims filed against it for the Zombie Walk. The city could face exposure for lack of oversight and not having enough officers to manage traffic issues, said Severson.

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