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Officer Michael Lemley of Metro’s Traffic Bureau goes undercover as “Officer Cringle” walking across N. Nellis Blvd. at Cedar Ave. on a marked crosswalk in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011.
By Jackie Valley (contact) 
Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 | 2:40 p.m.
Forget grandma getting run over by a reindeer.
Santa almost got run over by a Chevy — walking through a crosswalk a few days before Christmas Eve. People say there’s no such thing as pedestrian safety.
Just ask Santa. He agrees.
“He almost hit me!” Officer Michael Lemley yelled into a police radio, as a white pickup truck barreled south on Nellis Boulevard.
Santa narrowly escaped a Christmas catastrophe. Despite his red velvet suit, shiny black boots and fluffy white beard, several motorists in just an hour failed to stop when Lemley crossed the street.
Those who failed made his naughty list.
Officers stationed several hundred feet away on either end of the crosswalk pulled over the motorists, primarily for two offenses: failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and passing a stopped vehicle.
Metro Police and UNLV’s Safe Community Partnership coordinated the enforcement event Tuesday morning to raise awareness about pedestrian safety, which garnered much attention in the fall following several fatalities. The group moved to 11th Street and Charleston Boulevard in the afternoon.
Twenty-nine pedestrians have died in Clark County so far this year, said Lemley, an officer in Metro’s traffic bureau. That number is down from 32 fatalities at this point last year, but police aren’t satisfied.
“The main issue is you need to just get your head up and look where you’re going,” he said, referring to both motorists and pedestrians.
Police chose the Nellis Boulevard and Cedar Avenue location based on accident statistics and community complaints. It’s a marked crosswalk in a school zone, but there’s not a traffic light.
Add in the 45-mph speed limit during nonschool hours, and it can be dicey situation.
But did Santa experience any jitters as he crossed the boulevard?
“Oh, absolutely,” Lemley said. Bulletproof vests can’t stop cars, he said.
Back and forth, Santa walked, waving to some motorists and taking note of others. At one point, a red sport utility vehicle heading north on Nellis stopped just short of the crosswalk, then stalled.
“That’s got to be embarrassing,” Lemley said.
At least the SUV stopped. Others whizzed through the crosswalk.
Despite those motorists’ oblivion, Santa’s presence caught the eye of passing children.
“Santa Claus!” Alaysah Davis shrieked as she hopped out of a car at a nearby Taco Bell.
The beaming 6-year-old made a beeline for the man in red.
“She made me pull over the car,” her mother, Carrie McNeely, said. “She said, ‘Santa is on the street!’ ”
Maybe children have the most common sense, after all.
If he takes his badge off the near-misses might decrease.
Que the story "Santa hit by car coming home from Grandmas".
Some people just don't pay attention and others just don't have any class at all.
How do you miss SANTA walking across the street.
If you can't see SANTA chances are you are going to run over some little kid someday.
Hope you can live with it when you kill someones child because you don't pay attention.
Let me understand...the police are surprised that while trying to negotiate six lanes of busy traffic, observe every flavor of sign posted EVERYWHERE in this town, watch the side streets and parking lots, sidewalks, and the such...suprised that they cannot recognize lines painted ON THE STREET and sometimes run through them?...surprised?...truth is that injured pedestrians should sue the City for providing an "attractive nuisance" with all of these 'safe' crosswalks...
People?...if it is a busy street, please go to the corner and wait for the traffic lights...please...I have never seen anything like this crusade against motorists...
It isn't just all the distractions drivers face. You can't see around the corner to turn in most intersections because of trees, bushes and block walls.
In order to observe traffic, you have to drive into the crosswalk.
Fix the line of vision issues and I'll just bet the fatalities will go down.
And, yes, please get rid of the plethora of advertising, flashing lights, flags, figures blowing around etc......
This is a difficult and distracting place to drive, and you wonder why people get killed?
This is the only city I have seen that has random crosswalks all up and down really busy surface streets. These bus riders and random degenerates dart across the street when they should be walking to an intersection.
Just because you're legally allowed to cross a busy street doesn't exactly mean it's smart to do so.
If I hit one of these people their going to need to produce a credit or insurance card before they go to the hospital.
Although PEDESTRIANS always have the right of way, some pedestrians lack common sense or decency and refuse to walk to a corner and utilize the safer crossing. Even worse, are parents who model unsafe crossing! Then, you have pedestrians that wear all BLACK at night and decide to cross where ever they wish, usually unsafely.
And we wonder about the all the pedestrian casualties here in Las Vegas!!!
The focus should be also on training youth at school about proper crossing (perhaps during a bicycle safety rodeo). Being forewarned is being forearmed.
Blessings and Peace,
Star
It has nothing to do with the pedestrians, let me state plain and simple...IN A CROSSWALK....THEY HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY...people need to pull their heads out of their butts...if you drive a vehicle in this town, and especially the more expensive ones.....they feel that their time is more important than wasting it observing traffic signs or other drivers. If you drive in Nevada, you need to be familiar with Nevada Laws, regardless of how self-important YOU THINK YOU ARE.