Pedestrian Fatally Hit By Driver Near Silver Spring, Maryland

           Yesterday morning, an 83 year old woman was driving down Randolph Road when she suddenly drove across three lanes of traffic.  As a result, she hit a utility pole and Maria Posadas as she was standing on a neighbor’s driveway.  Posadas died from her injuries, while the elderly driver only suffered minor injuries.  Montgomery County Police are still investigating what caused the 83 year old to swerve across three lanes and hit Posadas and a power pole.

            

           This accident brings up an interesting issue that many people worry about: how safe are elderly drivers on the roads?  Today, the population of licensed drivers over the age of 70 has increased 30% since 1997.  However, with more elderly drivers on the road, fatal crashes involving a driver 70 or older have decreased significantly since the peak in 1997.  Although many people believe that the elderly cause more accidents than any other age group, statistics actually show that is not true at all.  In fact, fatal crashes involving elderly drivers are much less than fatal crashes involving teen or middle-aged drivers.  Studies also show that requiring some sort of driver education for drivers when they reach a certain age has very little safety benefits.

            

            Pedestrian safety affects everyone at all times of the day.  Many pedestrian accident injuries and fatalities are caused by intoxication or inattentiveness (i.e. texting while walking) on the part of the pedestrian.  However, sometimes there are negligent drivers who run through a crosswalk filled with people, hit someone, and keep driving.  Out of all the fatal pedestrian-involved accidents in Maryland, about 70% of the time the pedestrian was at fault for the accident.  In this case, Posadas was not at fault because she was not crossing a street.  Instead, another driver veered off the road and hit her while she was standing in a residential driveway. 

If you or a family member has been injured or killed by a driver as a pedestrian and would like to consult an experienced Maryland personal injury attorney for free, contact our office at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Silver Spring or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Personal-Injury/