What Risks Face West Virginia’s Pedestrians?
Pedestrians face many potentially deadly situations every day when they share roads with vehicles in West Virginia.
When assessing the safety or lack thereof in a particular area, reading local news stories can often provide useful information. In scanning headlines from around West Virginia, it is all too easy to see that pedestrians face very real and ongoing dangers when sharing the roads with a variety of motor vehicles. Some incidents from around the state include the following:
- WSAZ.com provided details on a collision that happened close to the location of a state police department building in Ripley. Members of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department investigated the crash in which a pedestrian was hit by a motor vehicle.
- In Fayette County, a pedestrian was taken to a local hospital by air after being ran over in a driveway. According to the WNSTV.com story, the driver has been arrested for driving under the influence. The incident took place during the day on a weekend at a private residence. The condition of the victim after arriving at the hospital was not given in the article.
- In Huntington, a pedestrian was walking across Washington Avenue one evening when a passenger vehicle hit the person. The WOWKTV.com report indicated that the victim was taken to Cabell Huntington Hospital but did not survive and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
These stories represent just a few situations in which innocent pedestrians were injured or killed after being hit by vehicles.
The Statistics Confirm The Stark Realities
In addition to news stories, data that is tracked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms the fact that pedestrians are in vulnerable positions in West Virginia. In 2013, there were 332 vehicular fatalities in the state of West Virginia. Pedestrians represented 28 of those fatalities.
Kanawha County was the deadliest county in the state for pedestrians that year with six pedestrian deaths happening there. Cabell County was close behind with the second highest number of pedestrian deaths. Cabell County lost 14 lives in motor vehicle accidents, five of those being pedestrians.
Berkeley, Monongalia and Raleigh Counties shared the number three spot for the most number of pedestrian deaths that year. In each county, three people on foot died in accidents.
Advice For Pedestrians
t is always important for pedestrians to remain aware of their surroundings. Accidents can happen while crossing a street, waiting for a bus or even walking across a parking lot. When a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle, help from an experienced attorney should always be a priority.
