DOT
WORKER CITATION DISMISSED
WHAT GIVES?
By Jon Mayhew
LINCOLNTON – A worker for
the State Department of Transportation
was stopped and cited by an off-duty
Lincolnton Police officer last week after
failing to yield for a pedestrian.
The Carolina Scoop has learned the
District Attorney’s Office has
dismissed the citation, despite assistant
district attorney Gwynn Radeker saying
last year no citations would be dismissed
per the district attorney.
The man – identified as Rodney
Stephen Murray of Ellenboro, N.C. –
was driving on East Main Street at the
post office when he failed to yield for
an unidentified pedestrian in the
crosswalk. The incident happened Friday,
Feb. 9 around 2:20pm.
Officer David Mocanu was off-duty, not in
uniform and in his personal vehicle. He
stopped Murray, who was in a
state-operated vehicle, and called for an
on-duty officer. Officer Kameron Keener
responded to the scene and provided
Mocanu with a citation booklet.
The citation reads from North Carolina
General Statute 20-173(A). “Without
yield, the right of way to a pedestrian
in the crosswalk which was clearly marked
as a crosswalk.”
Mocanu witnessed the incident, noting on
the citation the pedestrian “had to
step back out of the truck’s way to
avoid being struck.” The pedestrian
was at the center of the double yellow
line of the roadway.
“It’s not just because he’s
a DOT employee and could lose his job,”
said Radeker, “but because he could
lose his job if he was convicted of the
charge.”
Radeker added he’s heard from a
“reliable source” the defendant
was planning to say on the stand the
pedestrian simply waived the truck driver
on through.
The assistant district attorney said the
original plan wasn’t to dismiss the
charges.
“Officer Mocanu is a good officer
who doesn’t write bad tickets but he
wasn’t in uniform,” said
Radeker.
Lincolnton Police chief Dean Abernathy
said Mocanu did “the right thing”
by calling another officer.
“I made the call a long time ago
– before anyone got hit in the
crosswalk – that the Lincolnton
Police Department was going to enforce
the law,” said Abernathy. “All
of the officers within the city limits
have a responsibility to protect and
serve Lincolnton.”
Radeker said he’s notified Abernathy
and Lincoln County Sheriff Tim Daugherty
of the decision to dismiss this
particular charge and a citation against
a woman for a crosswalk violation in
Lincolnton a few weeks ago.
“I don’t want this to become a
pattern of dismissing cases,” said
Radeker. “This is a real safety
issue, yielding for pedestrians in the
crosswalk.”
Within the past several months, one
person has died and at least two more
have been injured as a result of
motorists not yielding in the crosswalk.
The fatality, Virginia McAllister, was
crossing East Main Street from the
Lincoln County Tax Office to the
Lincolnton/Lincoln County Chamber of
Commerce when she was struck as she
crossed the double yellow line.
What do you think? Email
mayhew.jon@gmail.com
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