A 21-year-old Macon County woman was killed after being struck by a tractor-trailer at 3 AM as she walked along a county road. The truck driver said he didn’t see the woman as he made a turn onto the road along which she walked.

An interesting and important report by the advocacy groups Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Partnership has caught my attention and I thought I might share it with you. Titled “Dangerous By Design” the report addresses the high rate of pedestrian deaths in the United States.

According to the report, in the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community. More than 43,000 Americans – including 3,906 children under 16 have been killed this decade alone. This is the equivalent of a jumbo jet going down roughly every month, yet it receives nothing like the kind of attention that would surely follow such a disaster.

Children, the elderly, and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in this figure, but people of all ages and all walks of life have been struck down in the simple act of walking. These deaths typically are labeled “accidents,” and attributed to error on the part of motorist or pedestrian. In fact, however, an overwhelming proportion share a similar factor: They occurred along roadways that were dangerous by design, streets that were engineered for speeding cars and made little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs or on a bicycle.

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000.

Pedestrian Deaths

In reviewing Tennessee news outlets this morning I can tell you that this week has not been kind to pedestrians. WBIR TV in Knoxville reported that a 51-year old man from Greene County was attempting to cross the street when he was hit by driver Billy Daniel Miller, 72. The victim Somphou Pommachanh was pronounced dead on arrival at Johnson City Medical Center. Police believe the victim was under the influence of alcohol.

A 56 year-old Nashville homeless man was struck by a Hit & Run driver while crossing Donelson Pike, reports News Channel 5. Witnesses saw a dark colored SUV speed out of a parking lot, ran over and killed the man and then drive away at a high rate of speed.

And in a horrible turn of events, a Kingsport man was struck by two cars and died at the scene. Wayne Quesenberry, 26, of Kingsport was initially hit by an SUV and thrown into the path of a pickup truck going the other direction. The second vehicle described as an F-150 fled the scene and is being sought by police.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) A pedestrian is defined as any person not in or upon a motor vehicle or other vehicle. In 2007, 4,654 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, a decrease of 13 percent from the 5,321 pedestrians killed in 1997. On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 113 minutes and injured in a traffic crash every 8 minutes. There were 70,000 pedestrians injured in traffic crashes in 2007. Most pedestrian fatalities in 2007 occurred in urban areas (73%), at non-intersection locations (77%), in normal weather conditions (90%), and at night (67%).

More than two-thirds (70%) of the pedestrians killed in 2007 were males. In 2007, the male pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 population was 2.19, more than double the rate for females (0.91 per 100,000 population). In 2007, the male pedestrian injury rate per 100,000 population was 26, compared with 20 for females. The message I’d like to leave you with is that whether you are behind the wheel or on foot you must avoid distractions and keep your eyes on what you are doing.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile pedestrian accident the injuries can be very serious and you ought to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your right. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.