This is something you never want to hear the receptionist at your workplace yell out: "Oh my God! I just saw a woman get hit by a car! I've got to go!"

That's exactly what we heard our receptionist, Emily Thomas, exclaim shortly after 9 a.m. March 13. Then she bolted out the front door to check on the victim, who was lying face down on O. Henry Avenue, which runs between our building and the Grove Arcade.

We all followed her, and the woman who'd been hit was already surrounded by passers-by and the driver of the truck that struck her, everyone offering assistance. She was not moving.

"It was pretty scary," Thomas told me. "Probably the scariest thing I've ever seen. I was shaking for probably an hour afterward."

The woman, a 72-year-old resident of the Grove Arcade, went flying after the pickup struck her, and she landed hard on her stomach and face. Police and an ambulance crew arrived quickly on the scene, and she was able to roll over, stand up with assistance and climb onto a gurney. She was also talking, a good sign. But her face was badly bloodied and swollen.

Now, Asheville is a notorious town for pedestrian woes, so I guess I shouldn't be shocked by something like this happening.

More:Asheville, one of worst cities for crashes, looks for fixes

But it is a horrible event to witness, even in its aftermath. A firefighter had to pour bleach on the blood-stained street.

That's the reality of what a pedestrian-struck-by-vehicle incident looks like. Rest assured this poor woman likely will face a very difficult and painful recovery.

Asheville pedestrians face danger

I can tell you, and so can Emily Thomas, that this kind of danger is not a rarity in Asheville. Heck, it's not even a rarity at this particular crosswalk, which is marked, meaning pedestrians have the right of way.

"At least two or three times a week," Thomas said, when I asked how often she sees close calls at the O. Henry crosswalk. "Cars come flying through there. They don't pay attention at all."

More:Answer Man: Crosswalk enforcement lacking in West Asheville?

I've seen the same plenty of times, and we're always on our toes when crossing there.

I'll note this is the second pedestrian-struck-by-car I've come upon personally in the last half year or so. Last fall, I drove to a scene on Hendersonville Road in South Asheville right after a man in a wheelchair was hit by a car.

Do cars have to stop for pedestrians?

To be clear, pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way, although the law is not as all-encompassing as you might think. I wrote about the issue in October 2017, and law enforcement officials pointed me to the applicable North Carolina statute 20-173, "Pedestrians' right of way at crosswalks."

It states, "Where traffic control signals are not in place or in operation the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at or near an intersection, except as otherwise provided in Part 11 of this Article."

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Sgt. Scott Pruett, who oversees the Asheville Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit, explained it in layman's terms back then.

"So, by law, vehicles are not required to stop for pedestrians that are standing on the sidewalk at the crosswalk, only if they are WITHIN the crosswalk," Pruett said. "Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams defines, for the purpose of this statute, 'within' as being one foot (shoe, not distance) in the crosswalk satisfies the statute in his opinion."

More:Police charge Asheville man in hit and run that killed pedestrian

In the incident in front of our building, the police report states that both the victim and a witness said the woman who was struck was in the crosswalk at the moment of impact.

The driver stated, "he looked to his right briefly" and that "he did not see the pedestrian crossing the street."

The report also states the driver acknowledged striking the woman.

So, to be clear, when someone is in the crosswalk and you're in a car, you HAVE TO stop or slow down or otherwise let them cross safely. I don't know why so many drivers don't seem to understand this.

Asheville has high rate of pedestrian accidents

And pedestrians get hit way too often in Asheville. Our fair city consistently ranks at or near the top in North Carolina for vehicular crashes, including pedestrians struck by vehicles.

"For four years running, this city known for a relaxed, slower-paced vibe has held a dubious place when it comes to traffic safety, ranking among North Carolina's least safe cities for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists," reporter Joel Burgess wrote in an October 2018 story.

Numbers from NC Department of Transportation and Division of Motor Vehicles showed that from 2013-15, the city ranked first for crashes based on a state system using reported crashes, crash severity and crash rates based on population.

Burgess reported that from 2014-16, Asheville had 16,701 crashes and 37 fatalities. In 2016, Asheville had 5,380 crashes with 11 fatalities and 1,488 injuries.

"Of those, 30, or 0.6 percent, of the more than 5,000 crashes involved pedestrians. Two fatalities resulted from those wrecks with 20 injuries," Burgess wrote.

Trust me, anyone who regularly walks around downtown knows that motorists just do not pay attention, or even worse, ignore the laws concerning pedestrians.

Justin Belt, a contractor who's been working on the Citizen Times building, said a few weeks ago he was crossing O. Henry at the same crosswalk when a driver starting blowing her horn at him.

"She started hollering, 'Get out of the road!' and 'State law! State law!'" Belt said.

Clearly, this fool did not understand she was the one violating state law.

An officer responding to the O. Henry incident also said the APD sees a lot of problems with crosswalk violations on Biltmore Avenue, and other areas.

Drivers: Learn the rules, pay attention

I know the city has been working to improve signage and crosswalk markings, but clearly it could do more.

But much of the blame falls to drivers. I don't know if this concept of "the pedestrian has the right of way" is not being taught in driver's education anymore, or if people just don't care or what.

I know a lot more drivers are definitely distracted by their phones, as I see this almost daily when I'm walking around. And many just drive too fast (and yes, I've been guilty of this, too).

And yes, some people, like the driver Belt encountered, just do not want to share the road.

Trust me, after seeing the stricken look on the face of the pickup truck driver after he knocked the pedestrian down, you don't want to be in his shoes.

Slow down out there. Pay attention. Put the phone away while you're driving.

And for the love of God, let the pedestrians cross safely in front of you, wherever they are.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 828-232-5847 or jboyle@citizentimes.com.