Pedestrian Accident

Recently, a car struck and critically injured a 28-year-old Pennsylvania man while he was crossing Universal Boulevard in Orlando. Accident investigators say the man was just a few hundred feet from the entrance to Universal Orlando when he attempted to cross from west to east across the boulevard. The accident occurred near the intersection with Major Boulevard around 2:10 a.m. A Chrysler sedan driven by a 25-year-old area woman struck and critically injured the victim. Orlando Police spokeswoman Sergeant Barb Jones said the victim was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for his injuries.
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A six-year-old Palatka boy was struck by a car and killed on March 11 while attempting to cross a street near his home. Accident investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol say that the child was trying to cross the street at the intersection of St. Johns and Wells Avenues when he was struck and killed by a 2002 Toyota driven by a 36-year-old Palatka woman. Police say the child died at the accident scene. It is unknown whether or not the driver of the car is facing criminal charges. More pedestrian accidents occur in Florida than any other state. These accidents take a terrible toll on victims and their families, and many seek the counsel of an Orlando personal injury attorney such as James O. Cunningham.
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In 2010, Florida lawmakers passed a controversial law that allows cameras posted on many traffic signals to photograph drivers who run red lights. Pedestrian safety advocates had pressured legislators for nearly eight years to pass the law and make Florida intersections safer for everyone. However, one South Florida State Senator, Republican Rene Garcia, has introduced a bill that would repeal the law. His bill proposes removal of all cameras posted on traffic signals on state roads by July 2011 and would make at least 50 local governments vulnerable to litigation from attorneys representing drivers who ran red lights and received tickets.
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A 67-year-old Orlando man struck by a sports utility vehicle while crossing West Colonial Drive recently died from his injuries two days after the pedestrian accident. Orlando police officers said a 2003 Ford Excursion driven by a 39-year-old Orlando woman struck the man as he crossed the eastbound lanes of Colonial Drive. The victim was rushed to a local hospital for treatment with severe head and internal injuries. Officials said this is the second fatal Orlando pedestrian accident so far in 2011.
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Most of us are very familiar with the dangers of distracted drivers who talk on their phones, text, apply makeup, eat and engage in other risky behavior while behind the wheel. However, New York lawmakers are considering legislation that addresses the risks that joggers and pedestrians take when wearing headphones and devoting their attention to iPods, cell phones and other personal electronic devices. The proposed legislation would ban the use of portable electronic devices while walkers and joggers cross streets and highways so that pedestrians devote their full attention to making sure they cross the street safely.
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The nephew of Buddhism’s most revered leader was killed recently when he was walking along a roadway. He was trying to raise awareness about Tibetans trying to regain their independence from China. The 45-year-old nephew of the Dalai Lama was walking along State Road A1A around 7:30 p.m. on February 14 when a sports utility vehicle struck and killed him. Florida Highway Patrol officers say a 31-year-old Palm Coast man drove the SUV, but he has not been charged in connection with the fatal pedestrian accident. This stretch of S.R. A1A is especially notorious as a bicyclist was struck and killed nearby in September 2010.
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A 25-year-old Orlando woman struck by five vehicles while walking across Interstate 4 in Volusia County on February 15 died from her injuries, according to Florida Highway Patrol accident investigators. Troopers said a truck, SUV and tractor-trailer all struck the woman after she was in a single-vehicle accident nearby. They said the woman had experienced an accident in the westbound lanes of I-4 near Deltona and was trying to get help when she was struck and killed by the vehicles. Orlando personal injury lawyer James O. Cunningham would like to remind everyone that if your car breaks down on a busy street or highway, you should remain in your vehicle until the police arrive.
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The media over the last several months has focused on the fact that Florida leads the nation in pedestrian accidents every year. This article from WBMM News 13 reports that two people were struck and killed recently in two separate pedestrian accidents in Florida, adding to the state’s ignominious reputation as the most dangerous place in the country for pedestrians.
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The Orlando Sentinel reported what many people living in Central Florida have known for years—the Orlando metropolitan area has the most dangerous streets in the United States for pedestrians in metro areas with at least one million people. The Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership issued a report recently that didn’t surprise one area science teacher who routinely runs and rides her bicycle in the area.

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A senior at Timber Creek High School was recovering recently after being struck by a car as she walked to a school bus stop. The 17-year-old Orlando girl had just missed her bus and was walking across Mark Twain Boulevard around 6:30 a.m. to catch it at the next stop when she was struck by a white Honda S2000. She was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children for treatment after the pedestrian accident, but her condition was not known at the time the Orlando Sentinel article was published. A Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson said that the girl’s injuries did not appear to be serious.

The Florida Highway Patrol does not currently track the numbers of schoolchildren hit by vehicles while walking to school. However, a spokesperson for the FHP said, “We see more of these types of accidents in the morning hours than in the afternoon hours.”
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