BAY SHORE, NY- According to Longisland.com, an elderly pedestrian was killed in an accident in Bay Shore Friday morning, November 16, 2018, at about 11:16 a.m.
The Suffolk County police identified the victim as 81-year-old Gloria Prietto. Prietto was hit by a 2019 Mack dump truck that belonged to Jet Sanitation. The man who was operating the vehicle, Gerald Hautman, 41, was driving east on Sunrise Highway South Service Road when he hit Prietto.
Prietto was taken to the Southside Hospital where she was declared dead.
Police are still investigating the incident.
Pedestrian deaths remained at a 25-year-high in 2017 after first reaching the high mark in 2016. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), about 6,000 pedestrians died in accidents in 2017.
The increased number of fatalities comes even as other types of pedestrian deaths were on the decline. While vehicle manufacturers have advanced the technological standards for safety of the occupants of vehicles, little has been done to increase the safety of pedestrians.
Reports indicate that the elderly and children are at the greatest risk of being killed in pedestrian accidents. According to the GSHA, elderly people, low-income individuals, and individuals lacking health insurance are statistically more likely to live in places that are not safe for pedestrians.
There are a number of factors that are likely contributing to the rise in pedestrian deaths, including more vehicles on the road because of lower gas prices, distracted drivers and increasing speed limits in some parts of the country. Alcohol is also a problem, both because of drivers who are under the influence, as well as because of drunk pedestrians.
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