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A pedestrian hit by a car Saturday night in the Iona area south of Fort Myers died from her injuries.
A 57-year-old woman was walking near her home when she was hit by a vehicle driven by her neighbor about 9:15 Saturday night.
Authorities said the driver was not speeding or impaired and the pedestrian was walking in an area not designated for pedestrians, according to news-press.com. The driver lives in the same block as the pedestrian.
Nearly 500 pedestrians were killed by vehicles in Florida in 2013, according to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Another 7,467 were injured. Crashes involving pedestrians were up about 2% over the previous year and fatalities were up 5%.
Florida’s beautiful climate is ideal for outdoor activities such as walking and biking. However, the beautiful climate also brings an influx of people, which brings more traffic.
There are many precautions drivers and pedestrians can take to help reduce the number of injuries and fatalities.
Pedestrian safety tips
• Be predictable. Follow the rules of the road and obey signs and signals.
• Walk on sidewalks whenever available.
• If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic and as far from traffic as possible.
• Keep alert at all times; don’t be distracted by electronic devices or the radio.
• Cross streets at crosswalks or intersections whenever possible.
Driver safety tips
• Look out for pedestrians everywhere, at all times. Safety is a shared responsibility.
• Use extra caution when driving in hard-to-see conditions, such as nighttime or in bad weather.
• Slow down and be prepared to stop when turning or entering a crosswalk.
• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and stop well back from the crosswalk to give other vehicles an opportunity to see the
crossing pedestrians so they can stop too.
Get more tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
At Bernardo Injury Law, we have seen far too many cases involving pedestrians. We have seen how these tragedies can impact families. If we can help you, contact us at (239) 332-3000 or toll free at 888-428-8943, email us at gethelp@injuryinfo.org. You can learn more about pedestrian injuries on our website at injuryinfo.org.