When a 63 year old Raligh, North Carolina man was hit and killed earlier this week, he was just one of a rising number of pedestrians killed in North Carolina and the nation this month. Many of these pedestrian fatalities involve hit and run drivers.
The elderly Raleigh, North Carolina man was hit by a hit and run driver on the evening of March 6 at South Roxboro and Piedmont streets in Raleigh.
Witnesses reported that he was struck by a woman in a gold Mazda 626. Raleigh-Durham police still are searching for the hit and run driver.
The Governors Highway Safety Association also this month released alarming statistics about the rise of pedestrian deaths across the country. That data shows that North Carolina had 96 pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2016. That is #7 in the US. And this is a 24% rise from the previous year in North Carolina.
Pedestrian deaths also increased across the nation by 11% in 2016 with 6,000 deaths, the most in 20 years. Many experts believe that part of the blame is owed to people driving more with smart phones. Many people are distracted behind the wheel, and some pedestrians are distracted as well.
Our View
Our personal injury and wrongful death attorneys in North Carolina and Virginia are concerned with the rising trend of pedestrian deaths. This is especially worrisome because the use of smart phones is only going to rise in the coming years. If they are somewhat to blame for the additional deaths, things could get even worse.
Experts state that if you stare at your phone for two seconds at 40 MPH, you are covering a long distance. It is very easy for a pedestrian to appear at a crosswalk in that time and a serious accident to result.
One silver lining on the horizon is that autonomous vehicles may eventually reduce some of these pedestrian deaths. While vehicles with no drivers present their own problems, the use of these no driver vehicles could reduce the number of distracted driving deaths.
We hope that all drivers and pedestrians pay close attention to what they are doing and these pedestrian deaths decrease. Anyone whose loved one has been injured or killed by a hit and run driver in a pedestrian accident should contact a personal injury attorney. If negligence was involved in the death or injury of your loved one on the part of another person, you could be entitled to substantial compensation.
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