Utah sees rise in auto-pedestrian crashes
Sep 30, 2022, 8:18 PM
SALT LAKE CITY — An alarming concern on Utah roads — a rise in auto-pedestrian crashes.
On Thursday, three people were hit by cars.
Thursday night, a 15-year-old from Hurricane was hit and killed while riding an e-bike. The same day, a 10-year-old in Bluffdale was hit on his bike and suffered minor injuries. And a teenage boy was hit by a car at East High School around midnight. He was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Three people hit by vehicles in one day.
“We want everyone to get home safely,” said Sgt. Brian Petersen with Utah Highway Patrol.
Petersen said 117 people have been hit by cars already this year.
On average, there are 39 deadly auto-pedestrian crashes annually. We are already at that number this year.
“We are seeing a lot of fatalities with pedestrians,” he said.
When you are walking near a roadway, Petersen said to assume that cars do not see you.
“Try to make eye contact with the driver before you cross the street,” he said.
Petersen added that pedestrians need to be alert and drivers need to be focused on the road.
“You can get sucked into your phone or conversation, but pay attention to the vehicles around you,” he said.
He said October is the deadliest month for auto-pedestrian crashes. He said that UHP sees the most crashes when it is dark outside, so as daylight savings is just around the corner, he asks you to be more alert.
