Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog
A young woman has died from injuries she sustained last night in a Washington DC pedestrian accident at a bus stop on Pennsylvania Avenue. An auto that drove onto the curb that she was standing on struck her.
Her death is the second Washington DC pedestrian fatality to occur on a sidewalk in less than 24 hours. Earlier yesterday, a man he was struck by a pickup truck on 12th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NE. The truck driver drove onto the sidewalk after hitting a car. Metro Police are investigating whether speed, weather, or other factors contributed to this tragic Washington DC traffic crash.
Although Transportation for America ranked Washington DC as number 32 behind 31 other US areas that are more dangerous for pedestrians—9 of the 34 traffic fatalities last year were Washington DC pedestrian deaths—pedestrian accidents continue to occur in this city filled with commuters, tourists, students, and families.
Drivers must watch out for pedestrians, who have no protection from the impact of getting struck by a tractor-trailer, a bus, a SUV, a car, a motorcycle, a 15-passenger van, a delivery truck, an 18-wheeler truck, or another kind of motor vehicle. The Insurance for Highway Safety reports that children younger than age 13, elderly adult pedestrians, and male pedestrians are the groups with the higher pedestrian death rate. However, regardless of age or demographic, striking a pedestrian with an auto can cause catastrophic injuries or death.
In addition to pedestrian carelessness and driver negligence, Transportation for America says poorly designed roads are also a common cause of pedestrian injuries or deaths. This is important to note, because there could be more than one party that can be held liable for a Washington DC pedestrian injury or death.
Pedestrian Hit, Killed in Northeast DC, MyFOXDC, December 22, 2009
Car hits, kills woman at D.C. bus stop; truck kills pedestrian, Washington Post, December 23, 2009
Pedestrians, IIHS
Dangerous By Design, Transportation for America
Related Web Resources:
District Department of Transportation
Contact our Washington DC injury law firm today.