Last night, a 38
year-old man was killed and a woman was injured in a hit and run crash
along the northbound lanes of the Baltimore Washington Parkway near Route
197. The victim is from Washington, D.C.
and his identity has not been released yet.
Police
are still investigating the cause of the accident, why the man and woman were
walking on the Baltimore Washington Parkway, and the identity of the driver of the
car. It is believed that once the
vehicle struck the two pedestrians, it continued driving north on the parkway.
Unfortunately,
thousands of pedestrians are killed each year in accidents and actually the numbers
have been increasing nationwide in recent years. 2010
data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA)
placed Maryland as the seventh most dangerous state for pedestrians with 1.75
fatalities per 100,000 residents. However,
the
most recent statistics do not have Maryland ranked in the top ten for worst
states for pedestrians. According to the
NHTSA,
nearly 3 out of 4 pedestrian deaths occur in urban environments, at
intersections, during the nighttime. In
addition, more than a third of pedestrian deaths involve alcohol.
The
most important determining factor in a pedestrian accident case is whether the
pedestrian was lawfully crossing the street at the time of the crash. In other words, was the pedestrian crossing
the street against the signal, crossing outside the crosswalk, or texting while
crossing, or was the pedestrian crossing with the “walk” signal and inside the
crosswalk. Because Maryland is a
contributory negligence state, if the victim pedestrian is negligent in any
way, they cannot recover in a civil lawsuit.
If you or a family
member has been injured or killed by a driver while crossing the street,
contact Portner & Shure for a free legal consultation or if you would like
more information on pedestrian accidents at (410) 995-1515 or visit us on the web
at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Personal-Injury/
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