According to Traffic Safety Facts April 2014 report, there is an upward trend of pedestrian fatalities in traffic accidents nationally. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says “on average, a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every seven minutes in traffic crashes.” Our Phoenix personal injury law office has handled numerous cases of pedestrians struck by vehicles. Arizona is contributing to this statistic. Early Thursday morning on March 12^th in San Tan Valley a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle. The pedestrian was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. This comes less than a month after a Scottsdale collision on February 18^th, where a car was exiting the Loop 101 freeway and struck two pedestrians in a cross walk. Of the two, one was taken to the hospital to be treated, the other was declared deceased.

The driver of a vehicle should always be alert and mindful of pedestrians and, likewise, pedestrians should be aware of vehicles. Under A.R.S. § 28-792 the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian within a crosswalk or when a pedestrian is so close from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.  According to A.R.S. § 28-793 a pedestrian must yield to all vehicles when crossing the roadway at any point other than a marked crosswalk or an intersection with an unmarked crosswalk. Everyone is responsible for sharing the roadway. As pedestrians are more vulnerable to fatality in a collision, drivers should take particular care.

Jay Ciulla is a personal injury and wrongful death lawyer, practicing throughout Arizona.