HUNTINGTON, NY- According to Longisland.com, a child sustained severe injuries in a pedestrian crash on Saturday, November 3, 2018. The child, an 8-year-old girl, was on the road at about 12:10 p.m. and was hit by a 1997 Ford van that was driving south on New York Avenue. The victim is from Lloyd Harbor. She […]
HUNTINGTON, NY- According to Longisland.com, a child sustained severe injuries in a pedestrian crash on Saturday, November 3, 2018. The child, an 8-year-old girl, was on the road at about 12:10 p.m. and was hit by a 1997 Ford van that was driving south on New York Avenue.
The victim is from Lloyd Harbor. She was taken to the Huntington Hospital before being transferred to the Cohen’s Children’s Hospital. The driver of the van, identified as Pedro Guerrero, did not sustain any injuries in the crash and remained at the scene.
The investigation is still ongoing.
Roadways in the United States present severe dangers to pedestrians. According to one national study, the number of pedestrians killed across the country reached a 28 year high in 2016, which is the most recent year for which the study had data.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stated that 5,987 people were killed in pedestrian incidents in 2016. The number of pedestrian fatalities in US roadways has not been that high since 1990 and indicated an increase of 46 percent since 2009.
Many of these pedestrian accidents happen at night, in locations without crosswalks, or in spots where the crosswalks are not well-designed. Another factor that has likely contributed to the increased number of accidents is the increasing number of SUVs on the road. These larger vehicles seem to create a heightened risk to pedestrians.
In 2018, the federal government has released its plan to implement a Vision Zero program on the national level. The program’s goal is to eliminate roadway fatalities by the year 2050.
