100 tickets handed out during Salinas pedestrian sting

UPDATE 2/8/2018 4:40 p.m.: Salinas police were back out in full force on Thursday, cracking down on drivers who weren’t yielding to pedestrians.

Officers hit up several problem areas in Salinas, including East Laurel Drive at Granada and Williams Road near Bellhaven.

100 tickets were handed out, seven cars were towed and one driver was arrested.

KION was at the pedestrian sting at East Laurel and Granada, a known trouble spot for people. This particular stretch is especially dangerous as drivers try to beat the light at Natividad and Laurel.

“It’s dangerous because there’s some people that are driving too fast and they don’t let us cross,” said Sandra Salazar. “We’ve been living here for five years and we need the community to help us so that they can add a (flashing) light so that they can see that the pedestrians are crossing the street.”

Police said they saw drivers speeding, making unsafe turns and unsafe lane changes. One of those dangerous moves led to a car crash.

“A vehicle stopped for him, and the vehicle coming up behind him did not want to stop for him, and actually swerved to change lanes going westbound and not paying attention, swerved changed lanes and realized they had to stop, slammed on the brakes and got rear ended,” recounted Officer Kevin Orepeza.

At one point, the decoy had to get back on the sidewalk to avoid getting hit by a truck. That driver was also stopped.

During another stop, a driver ended up in police custody.

“The driver had a suspended license, he also had an outstanding arrest warrant, and the vehicle hadn’t been registered in over a year,” Orepeza said.

In the meantime, police and pedestrians are asking drivers to slow down, hang up and pay attention.

“They’re on their cell phone, I don’t know what they’re doing but then the next think you know they’re right in front of you and then they blame the pedestrian, saying that they didn’t look when they crossed, but who is the one driving?” said Salazar.

This enforcement comes one week after a multi-agency push to crack down on speeders and distracted drivers.

Last Thursday, 118 tickets were handed out, six cars were towed and one arrest was made.

When asked if drivers had learned their lesson from that sting, police said it took more than one or two of these operations to get the message across.

ORIGINAL POST: Salinas Police are once again holding pedestrian stings across the city.

Motorcycle officers were along East Laurel Drive Thursday morning. Other officers were stationed on the east side of the city along Williams.

A decoy officer would cross in crosswalks and if drivers didn’t yield, they would be pulled over.

It’s been a busy day. Thursday morning, one car stopped for a pedestrian. A car behind that swerved around to avoid stopping. When the driver realized a pedestrian was in the crosswalk, she slammed on her brakes. A car behind her crashed into her.

So far an estimated 70-80 tickets have been handed out to drivers. There has been at least one arrest, a driver with a suspended license and an outstanding arrest warrant.