Runner Staring at Phone Collides With Walker Staring at Phone
/
Depositphotos.com
A local runner collided with a walker on a public street this morning, Dumb Runner has learned, resulting in minor injuries.
The runner, identified as Georgia Romero, 25, was moving at a “pretty brisk pace,” witnesses said, when she crashed head-on into Rod Argent, 34, a pedestrian who was ambling along while holding a cup of coffee.
Both parties were looking down at their smartphone in the moments leading up to the crash, according to witnesses. Argent’s coffee was described as a total loss; the phones, which fell to the ground upon impact, appeared to be unharmed.
The crash itself happened in the blink of an eye, said one witness, who nevertheless said it easily could have been avoided.
“I saw it coming from, like, a mile away,” said Ruben Fleischer, an amusement park manager who watched the incident unfold. “There’s this runner, speeding along and staring at her phone, and then there’s a dude walking real slow, looking down and kind of frowning at his own phone.”
“And they’re headed right for each other.”
A handful of onlookers saw the collision, Fleischer said, reacting with gasps, exclamations, and a smattering of applause. Once it became clear that no one was seriously hurt, he said, the two picked up their phones and continued on their way.
At last report, Romero and Argent were both back to staring at their phones.
