South Carolina Lawyer Blog
As spring arrives and the weather clears, drivers across the state should be alert for pedestrians.
Every three days, someone dies in a pedestrian accident in South Carolina, according to the state Department of Public Safety. For bicyclists, the fatality rate is approximately one death per 17 days.
These statistics show the danger involved in simply walking, jogging or biking on South Carolina streets and highways.
Unfortunately, in most car-pedestrian encounters, it is the pedestrian who generally pays the higher price. The result of a pedestrian accident can include broken limbs, cuts and abrasions, spinal damage, traumatic brain injury and wrongful death.
A pedestrian fatality occurred April 4 in Florence County, where a 50-year-old woman was struck and killed by a 2003 Oldsmobile while walking home from taking care of her grandmother.
“The fatal hit and run happened on Tanyard Street in Timmonsville around 9:15 Thursday night, according to LCpl. Sonny Collins with the South Carolina Highway Patrol,” reported Carolina Live.com.
The 19-year-old driver of the Oldsmobile initially fled the scene but returned to talk to police. He was arrested and charged with Felony Driving Under the Influence and Leaving the Scene of a Collision Involving Death.
7 Facts About Pedestrian Accidents
1. There were 4,280 people killed in pedestrian accidents in 2010, a 4 percent increase from 2009.
2. An additional 51,000 people were injured in pedestrian accidents nationally.
3. About 75 percent of pedestrian deaths were in urban areas.
4. Almost 70 percent of pedestrian deaths were at night.
5. The majority of pedestrian deaths were male (70 percent).
6. People aged 75 and over had the highest number of fatalities.
7. Children aged 10-14 had the highest number of injuries.
Source: Carolina Live.com http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?list=195106&id=881163