FEBRUARY 13, 2015
WASHINGTON,
DC
It’s
the middle of February, and already 2015 is off to a deadly start for area pedestrians. At
least seven people have died after being struck by vehicles on some of D.C.’s busiest
highways since the beginning of the year.
Five people
were struck and killed late last week alone.
On
Wednesday, a 26-year-old man was hit by a refrigerator box truck while walking
along Interstate 95, north of Route 198 in Laurel. The man was pronounced dead
on the highway; the truck driver stayed at the scene. The Maryland State Police
are still investigating the accident.
Also last
week, two collisions occurred within six hours and less and a mile apart from
one another. On Thursday night, a teenager was struck by a swerving SUV on the
southbound shoulder of Branch Avenue near the Suitland Parkway in Marlow
Heights. He later died. By dawn on Friday, a man was found dead after being
struck by an outbound vehicle on the Suitland Parkway near Alabama Avenue.
Police say the man appeared to have entered a travel lane of the parkway when
he was hit.
Later
Friday evening, another teenager was killed on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway
near Route 100. The Maryland State Police report that the 18-year-old woman was
hit by a truck in the northbound travel lanes.
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Later
Friday evening, a woman was killed on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway north of
Route 100. The Maryland State Police report that the 42-year-old was hit by a
truck in the northbound travel lanes.
Earlier in
the month, a 53-year-old woman was killed on Route 202 in Landover. Fairfax
County Police say a 40-year-old man was struck by two vehicles on Route 1 in
Hybla Valley on Jan. 13. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dozens of
pedestrians were injured through the region last month. A hit-and-run in
Arlington left two people hurt — one of them with life-threatening injuries —
last week. Two days later, in Fairfax County, a man suffered life-threatening
injuries after being struck on Gallows Road.
According
to numbers obtained by WTOP, 52 pedestrians were struck and killed last year in
D.C. and the surrounding counties.
Prince
George’s County has seen a significant increase in the number of fatalities in
recent years. In 2014, 21 deaths were investigated in the county — double the
number in 2013. Also, Fairfax County saw more pedestrian deaths over the
previous year.
In
Montgomery County, a pedestrian was struck and killed on Veirs Mill Road on
Jan. 6. Jeff Dunkle, pedestrian safety coordinator for Montgomery County, says
that they have developed a comprehensive strategy to address pedestrian safety
issues.
“Our
flagship program is what we call our high-incident areas. By targeting those
areas where more people have been struck by cars, we’re able to identify
countermeasures — actions we can take that will actually make things safer and
will help pedestrians be able to walk there with less risk.”
Dunkle says
keeping pedestrians safe in the most accident-prone areas comes down to
improving infrastructure, education and enforcement. He knows that when it
comes to accidents there is a well-established relationship between velocity
and survival.
“Speed is
hugely important in terms of the severity of collisions that occur or whether
collisions occur at all. If you’re hit at 40 mph, you have an 85 percent chance
of dying. If you’re hit at 20 mph, you have a 90 percent chance of surviving.”
So far, all
of the fatalities this year happened on roads with speed limits at or above 40
miles per hour.
In addition the Washington, DC, pedestrians, bicyclysts and motorcyclists are mowed down at record pace throughout the US. It is open season, throughout the year. So be careful where you walk. Using the crosswalks is not sufficient to protect you, as pedestrians have been killed while walking on the crosswalk.
According the US DOT statistics, the percentage of pedestrian deaths has been on the rise for the last 4-5 years.