MoDOT revisits signal light where woman was hit several weeks ago

Nearly three weeks after a pedestrian was hit by a CPD vehicle, ABC 17 News went out with a MoDOT traffic engineer to see if the signal light was still working properly.

Laura Harrison was hit by a CPD vehicle on Wednesday September 7, after walking across the intersection at Brown Station Road and Route B.

Harrison said she was walking across the street legally when a CPD car hit her.

Columbia Police Department released preliminary information to ABC 17 News that said the pedestrian failed to yield. However Harrison, told ABC 17 News, that was not true.

MoDOT came out to investigate the signal light the next morning and noticed the flaws which prompted CPD to look further into the investigation.

Upon looking at the officers dash cam & body cam video, CPD determined that the pedestrian did legally cross the crosswalk.

ABC 17 News went out to the crosswalk today with a MoDOT traffic engineer, and the traffic light was still working.

“We have engineers that try to observe signal lights every year, and we also have electricians that do preventative maintenance,” said Trent Brooks, central district MoDOT traffic engineer.

Although the cause of the signal light malfunctioning isn’t clear, Brooks said weather can play a big role in why a lot of signal lights malfunction.