No charges in crosswalk fatality

News editor's note: This story has been modified to correct a reporting error concerning Anthony James Joerger's direction of travel. The correct direction of travel is listed in the body of the story.

SANDPOINT — Criminal charges will not be filed against a Sagle man who fatally injured a pedestrian in a Fifth Avenue crosswalk last fall.

“Witness statements, physical evidence as well as the accident reconstruction do not show the actions of the driver to be negligent to the point of warranting criminal liability,” Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said in a statement.

The decision comes nearly five months after Anthony James Joerger was struck during the evening rush hour. Joerger, a 46-year-old Sandpoint resident, died shortly after the 5 p.m. collision at Cedar Street and Fifth on Nov. 19, 2009.

Idaho State Police said Mark Harley McElroy, 49, was westbound on Cedar when he stopped at a red light and waited for southbound traffic on Fifth the clear so he could join the flow.

After traffic cleared, he turned left onto Fifth, but did not see Joerger was walking westbound in the crosswalk and ran into him, the police report said.

Marshall said it appeared Joerger was lawfully in the crosswalk and McElroy was lawfully turning left against a red light.

Although state police concluded McElroy’s inattention was a contributing factor in the collision, Marshall said the degree of inattention did not rise to a criminal level in light of other factors, including a dimly lit intersection and Joerger’s dark clothing.

Witnesses who saw the tragedy unfold told police the intersection was very dark. Joerger was also clad in black pants and shoes, and was wearing a dark blue raincoat.

“We did not feel that the level of inattention rose high enough to be a citeable offense,” Marshall said on Monday.

Witnesses and police who responded to the crash noted that overhead lighting at the intersection was poor. Several of the streetlights did not stay on consistently. Trooper Kevin Bennett said in his report that the lights would dim during periods of heavy traffic and brighten when there was less traffic.

Bennett ruled out McElroy’s cell phone as a contributing factor, the report said. An examination of the phone showed McElroy had not made or received any phone calls or text messages in the hours leading up to the collision.

Bonner County resident Dianne Brauer told state police she saw Joerger begin to make his way across Fifth just as McElroy was initiating his turn.

“I realized the truck did not see the pedestrian and was going to hit him so I reached for my cell + immediately dialed 911, as I was hitting send the truck struck the guy,” Brauer said in her written statement.

The only conflict among the eyewitness statements was how abruptly McElroy initiated his turn. Brauer told police McElroy proceeded slowly, while another witness, Maria Caduto of Cranston, R.I., said it appeared McElroy took off quickly, the report said.

None of the witnesses recalled whether the pedestrian signal Joerger was relying on was showing a “walk” signal, although there appears to be no doubt that it was.

McElroy told police he saw movement in his peripheral field of vision when making the turn and hit the brakes, but it was too late.

McElroy could not be reached for comment Monday and a message was not immediately returned.

Joerger’s sister, Roxanne Finney of Spirit Lake, said her family has no hard feelings toward McElroy, who has been in their prayers throughout the ordeal. She’s also grateful for the outpouring of support from the community following her brother’s death.

“It was very comforting that people showed how much they cared,” said Finney.

Finney said her brother walked Sandpoint’s streets thousands of times since moving here in 1984.

“Sandpoint was his family. He loved it there. He always used to say, ‘Sandpoint’s my town.’ He just loved it,” said Finney.

Following the crash, crews were seen adjusting the city’s street lights at the intersection and the Idaho Transportation Department has since

In the accident’s aftermath, the city has adjusted lighting at the intersection and the Idaho Transportation Department has adjusted the traffic signals to give pedestrians more lead time. The city and state also agreed to ban motorists on Cedar from turning southbound onto Fifth against the light.