WASHINGTON — It’s 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.
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.
