Tag Archive for 'pedestrian collision'

Drawing conclusions from the Death Dashboard

October 1, 2013: published by Troy Heerwagen at 8:06 am - Closed

The Seattle Roadway Death Dashboard published here last week combines different sources of data and presents the data through various chart types. This interactive analytical tool provides information on roadway fatalities that could be used to save lives.

Here are some examples of how you can interact with this tool to gain insight:

  • During the daytime, people in their 80s and 90s are more likely to be killed in a traffic collision than any other age group. Together, this age group makes up 7% of the total population but accounts for 44% of the fatalities from 9am to 4pm.
    [expand title=”see screenshot”]
    Dashboard showing daytime fatalities between 9am to 4pm.

    Dashboard showing daytime fatalities between 9am to 4pm.

    [/expand]
  • Pedestrians 50 and older are disproportionately likely to be killed on Seattle roadways. Pedestrians younger than 50 count for fewer roadway fatalities than expected based on the city demographics. People aged 20-49 account for 58% of the city population but only 41% of its pedestrian fatalities.
    [expand title=”see screenshot”]
    Death dashboard showing pedestrians only by age and race.

    Death dashboard showing pedestrians only by age and race.

    [/expand]
  • As a percentage of total fatalities, black drivers are more than three times as likely to be killed on the roadway than city demographics would suggest. This race accounts for 26% of driver fatalities but only 8% of the population.
    [expand title=”see screenshot”]
    Dashboard showing drivers only by age and race.

    Dashboard showing drivers only by age and race.

    [/expand]
  • Rainier Ave S is the deadliest city street with a speed limit from 20-35 mph by far, but there are several other streets where four or more people have died.
    [expand title=”see screenshot”]
    Death Dashboard showing fatalities on roadways with 20-35 mph speed limits.

    Death Dashboard showing fatalities on roadways with 20-35 mph speed limits.

    [/expand]
  • Pedestrian fatalities are fairly evenly distributed throughout the day, while driver and passenger fatalities occur predominantly late at night and in the very early morning.
    [expand title=”see screenshot”]
    Death Dashboards showing pedestrian fatalities by hour - fairly evenly distributed.

    Death Dashboards showing pedestrian fatalities by hour – fairly evenly distributed.


    Death Dashboards showing driver and passenger fatalities by hour - mostly at night.

    Death Dashboards showing driver and passenger fatalities by hour – mostly at night.

    [/expand]

This is just a sampling of the type of analysis you can do with the dashboard. Please share any interesting results you’ve found in the comments.

Share
Closed. Tags: , . information

Vigil this Monday for teen struck in hit-and-run

August 2, 2013: published by Troy Heerwagen at 12:37 pm - Closed

15-year-old Trevon Crease-Holden was struck on July 19th at Walden and MLK. The driver fled the scene has yet to come forward. As the teen continues to fight for his life, there will be a vigil walk this Monday, August 5 at 5:30 pm.

More information is available at Seattle Neighborhood Greenways:

The Rainier Valley community is gathering on Monday, August 5 at 5:30pm the QFC on Rainier, 2707 Rainier Ave S, and walking four blocks to the site of the tragedy at MLK and South Walden Street. Trevon’s mother, Quianna Holden and other community leaders intend to speak at the Walden collision site. Representatives from local advocacy organizations and the Seattle Mayor’s Office plan to attend.

Trevon was on his way home with his little brother from a late night open gym at a local community center when they entered a marked crosswalk at Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and South Walden Street. A vehicle travelling south on MLK struck Trevon and continued without stopping to provide information or render aid. Seattle Fire Department responded and Seattle Police continue to search for the hit-and-run driver.

Quianna Holden says she can forgive the driver for hitting her son, but she cannot forgive the driver for not coming forward. She went on KIRO TV to make a heartbreaking plea­ for the person responsible to come forward so she can at least have answers. His mother says Trevon is a good son, and a good athlete who hoped to start football this year at Franklin High School.

Share
Closed. Tags: , . events and issues

Hundreds join memorial walk

April 1, 2013: published by Troy Heerwagen at 11:07 pm - Closed

Seatteites walk for safe streets

Seatteites walk for safe streets

After a collision took the lives of an elderly couple and put their granddaughter and daughter-in-law in critical condition one week ago, hundreds marched in their memory and for safer streets in North Seattle.

The group assembled at Top Pot Doughnuts on 35th Ave NE, which provided free doughnuts and coffee to participants. From there, people followed the path similar to the one that Dennis and Judy Schulte followed before being hit.

The crowd included numerous families walking with their bicycles and strollers, local government representatives like Mayor McGinn and SDOT Director Peter Hahn, as well as walking advocates.

Memorial to victims at NE 75th St and 33rd Ave NE

Memorial to victims at NE 75th St and 33rd Ave NE

Some people brought flowers and laid them at the memorial site at NE 75th St and 33rd Ave NE. The crowd stood on the wide roadway of 75th to pay their respects before heading back to the starting point.

It was a somber occasion and an important reminder of the need for safe streets advocacy as well as a reminder of the fragility and preciousness of human life.

Share
Closed. Tags: , , , . events

Memorial Walk for Crash Victims – Tomorrow

March 31, 2013: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:49 am - Closed

Last Monday in North Seattle, a woman and her infant were put in critical condition and the infant’s grandparents were killed when struck by a driver with a history of driving under the influence.

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways has organized a memorial walk to take place one week after the crash – Monday, April 1, at 4pm. The walk will convene in front of Top Pot Doughnuts at 6855 35th NE.

The walk will pay respects to the family, but will also send the message that Seattle needs safer streets. The city has seen too many incidents like this – where neighborhood streets are the setting for car crashes and destroyed lives. The situation on our streets needs to change before something like this happens again.

Share
Closed. Tags: , , . events and issues

UW Police car hits pedestrians

March 10, 2011: published by Troy Heerwagen at 6:46 am - Closed

Early Saturday morning, the driver of an unmarked University of Washington police car struck another vehicle passing through the intersection and then struck two pedestrians.

News reports do not mention who had the right of way, only that the other driver did not show signs of impairment. Since the police car was unmarked, it is also not apparent whether the driver was using emergency lights or a siren.

The two pedestrians were rushed to Harborview, but did not have life-threatening injuries.

Share
Closed. Tags: , , . pedestrian collision

Drunk driver gets less than 3 years in prison for hitting 5 people

February 22, 2011: published by Troy Heerwagen at 7:57 am - 4 Comments

A woman who was driving with a blood alcohol level of more than 3 times the legal limit, who ran over five pedestrians, has been sentenced to 29 months in prison.

Wright, 43, pleaded guilty earlier this month to three counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless driving in connection with the accident that sent four people to the hospital. One victim, a 28-year-old woman, suffered a brain injury that required doctors to remove a portion of her skull, according to charging paperwork.

The sentence imposed Friday by King County Superior Court Judge Bruce Heller was at the high end of the sentencing range, according to the King County prosecutor’s website.

I dunno what to say.

Share
4 Comments. Tags: , , , . pedestrian collision

Pedestrian fatality in Rainier Valley

February 12, 2011: published by Troy Heerwagen at 10:26 pm - Closed

A pedestrian was struck and killed in the Rainier Valley this morning. It appears that a woman in her late 70s was crossing against the signal and was struck by a vehicle and died at the hospital.

Share
Closed. Tags: , , , . pedestrian collision

10 year sentence for driver who struck and killed pedestrian

February 12, 2011: published by Troy Heerwagen at 11:25 am - 1 Comment

From the Times:

A 34-year-old sex offender with a lengthy rap sheet was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison Friday for running over and killing a 91-year-old Capitol Hill woman last year.

Shipp’s blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit, after the crash, according to police. Shipp, police said, denied being drunk, saying he had taken a 500-milligram Vicodin pill several hours earlier.

[Judge] Yu told Shipp his two-page criminal history persuaded her to hand down a harsh sentence. The judge questioned whether Shipp ever had learned a lesson from time he previously spent behind bars.

It’s unlikely the sentence would have been nearly as severe if the negligent driver were not a repeat offender. Currently, a vulnerable users bill is being considered in committees in the state congress, which would increase penalties for vehicular negligence. Seattle Bike Blog has a good write-up of the status of HB 1339 and SB 5326.

Share
1 Comment. Tags: , , , . pedestrian collision

Two pedestrian collisions over the weekend

January 25, 2011: published by Troy Heerwagen at 7:28 am - Closed

SPD Blotter reports on two pedestrian collisions over the weekend. At Boylston Avenue and Pine Street, a woman was struck in a marked crosswalk. The victim was taken to Harborview with life-threatening injuries. The driver attempted to flee, but was caught by police and booked for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The second accident was on Denny Way near 1st Ave, as a man was struck when crossing mid-block. In this case, the driver doesn’t appear to have been at fault. The pedestrian sustained serious head injuries and was taken to Harborview.

Share
Closed. Tags: . pedestrian collision

479 Vehicle-Pedestrian Crashes in 2009

January 24, 2011: published by Troy Heerwagen at 6:27 am - Closed

Erica at PubliCola shares some statistics from SDOT in 2009:

  • Car collisions with pedestrians were also down, but they remained more common than bike collisions, with 479 crashes (11 of them fatal) last year alone. Sixty-eight percent of the time, the pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk (just 8 percent of all crashes were pedestrians crossing intersections against the signal).
  • Although pedestrian and bike collisions were the most likely collisions to be fatal (accounting for 11 of 24 fatalities), overall, driving a car remains the most dangerous way to get around. Ninety-three percent of all accidents in 2009 were between cars or cars and stationery objects (like parked cars, which accounted for 24 percent of all car-on-car crashes, or things like phone poles and street signs, which made up another 6 percent).
  • Finally, the data suggest that if you’re going to get drunk, just stay home. Although just one cyclist was hit by a drunk driver in 2009, five drunk cyclists were involved in crashes, along with 11 pedestrians. (Two pedestrians “had taken medication,” one was under the influence of drugs, and one was “apparently asleep,” according to the report.

While it’s good that pedestrian accidents declined in 2009, accident and fatality numbers are still way too high. 251 of these accidents were at least partially the fault of drivers. With driving on the decline, hopefully these accidents will continue to decrease. But more vigilant prosecution of dangerous driving, as well as some changes to protect pedestrians (e.g. disallowing right-on-red in some locations), could help make Seattle a safer place to walk.

Share
Closed. Tags: , . information