A pedestrian was killed after being struck by a vehicle earlier today in south Lee County.

WINKnews.com is reporting that a black Dodge Ram hit a pedestrian just after 9 a.m. at U.S. 41 and Sanibel Boulevard. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and one lane of the road is closed.

Read more about the accident.

Just a couple weeks ago in south Fort Myers, an elderly couple was killed trying to cross Winkler Road. They were on their morning walk when they tried to cross the street near East College Point Drive. We wrote a blog post about that accident and we discussed a new program by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that provides grants to help make cities safer for pedestrians. For more, you can read the previous blog.

We are all pedestrians so we have to remember to be cautious when we are walking along the roadways and crossing the street and when we are behind the wheel of a vehicle.

A pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every eight minutes in 2011, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation National Traffic Safety Administration report. In Florida, there were 490 pedestrian fatalities, which made up about 20 percent of the total traffic fatalities.

Follow these National Traffic Safety Administration tips to help reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities.

At Bernardo Injury Law, we are concerned about your safety. If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident, contact us at (239) 332-3000 or email us at gethelp@injuryinfo.org.