A Pittsburgh sanitation worker was hit by a vehicle last week and suffered serious, albeit undisclosed, injuries. The man was picking up a trash can and preparing to throw it in the back of a garbage truck when the car accident occurred. He was crushed between the vehicle and the truck and was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

The director of Public Works seemed to indicate that the injuries sustained by the 55-year-old man in the car accident were very severe. "He's doing better than we initially thought, but he's still not out of the woods yet," he said. "He will have a long road to recovery."

Details were not released regarding the woman who was behind the wheel of the vehicle that hit the 55-year-old, but it does not appear she was hurt in the car accident. She told investigators that the sun was in her eyes prior to the wreck, and though she has not yet been charged for the ordeal, the investigation is ongoing.

If the sun did affect the driver's vision, then this case truly is an accident. But how long did the sunlight prevent her from seeing the road? Why wasn't she driving more slowly or carefully if the sun prevented her from clearly seeing what was going on around her? And how about the car's driver-side sun visor - did the woman fail to lower the visor?

The authorities do know that the injured man was wearing a reflective vest prior to the accident. When the investigation is complete, the 55-year-old could have some legal options to pursue if it is found that the woman was driving recklessly.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Woman blames accident on glare," Sadie Gurman, Feb. 6, 2012