Man in the Street

Here's a story in the paper the last couple days that really got me. A guy lying in the street in Erie was hit by a car and eventually died. The driver of the car was intoxicated and will probably be charged. Looking beyond the fact that there was booze involved, it brings to mind an incident that happened to my mother and I a long time ago. She was driving and we were going across the bridge in town when we saw they were working on the side of the bridge. There was more than likely someone on either side of the area with the stop and slow signs. As we approached the area we saw something on the road that looked to both of us as a bag or paper extending beyond the work area. As my mother was told to go, she went around the item on the road and then, looking back, we saw it was a man on the ground working. It kind of surprised both of us and I remember my mom saying how she was initially going to run over it but at the last minute swerved around. How awful that would have been for all involved but it very well could have been prevented by having a cone placed by the man or more direction from the workers. Now getting back to the incident in Erie. Why was that guy in the street, was he drunk and did the guy driving even realize that it was a person in the street? I'm not saying either one of these people are blameless but sometimes circumstances have to be taken into consideration. It all just makes me a little more careful as I'm driving, especially downtown.