Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 10, 1994 TAG: 9403100127
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MAURA SINGLETON RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
DATELINE: RICHMOND (AP) LENGTH: Medium
They had recently graduated from Leader Dogs for the Blind, a training school in Rochester, Mich., and were looking forward to a long partnership.
On Monday evening, Ellinger and her 46-pound Labrador retriever were on their way home from a walk when Ellinger was struck by a car and killed.
It was a route they had taken many times, said Rick Ellinger, her husband, who also is blind.
Kathy Ellinger, 33, was next to the median when she was struck about 8:10 p.m., Richmond police Sgt. John Bowman said. The dog was uninjured.
Witnesses told police that Ellinger was facing east with her back to oncoming traffic, and was bent over Sophie as if adjusting her harness. The witnesses differed as to whether Sophie was on the median or in the street but said she was on Ellinger's left, in the proper position, Bowman said.
Ellinger had difficulty with that intersection, her husband said. A trainer had worked with her on it after her return from the school.
His wife might have been tired and lost her concentration, he said. Though the dog is trained to handle heavy traffic, Sophie might have become distracted.
Because a leader dog essentially acts as a pair of eyes, many of the signals given by the person are requests rather than commands. The signal "walk," for instance, is a request because a leader dog will not move forward unless the street is clear.
But Forest Hill Avenue, five lanes at the intersection where Kathy Ellinger was struck, has hazards a blind person can't know about - that visibility is difficult for drivers, for example.
"It's not well-lighted," Bowman said.
The driver of the car that struck Kathy Ellinger hit the brakes and swerved, nearly striking another car. No charges were filed, Bowman said.
In an interview in the Richmond Times-Dispatch last week, Ellinger said she and 16-month-old Sophie still were adjusting to each other. The dog had undergone a rigorous four-month training before Ellinger's arrival at the school in January. After evaluating Ellinger on her walking speed, voice inflection and overall temperament, the school paired her with Sophie.
Judging from their fondness for each other, it was a happy match.
Kathy Stauffer, director of graduate services of Leader Dogs for the Blind, said such fatal accidents are "very rare," though she had no statistics.
"In the 13 years that I've been here, it's never happened," she said.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB