Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Eight Lanes of Death

Another Pedestrian Hit On Coastal Highway

6/08/2012 | By News Editor, Shawn J. Soper

OCEAN CITY -- For the third time in about two weeks, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross Coastal Highway near 54th Street early Tuesday morning and once again the victim was not in the crosswalk.

After two pedestrian fatalities in eight days since Memorial Day in Ocean City, a third was struck on Coastal Highway near 54th Street around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, and while the injuries sustained by the victim are serious, they are not considered life-threatening. The victim, a 32-year-old man from North Las Vegas, was attempting to cross Coastal Highway from west to east and was not in a crosswalk at the time of the collision.

The vehicle attempted to swerve to avoid striking the pedestrian, but the victim was struck by the vehicle’s driver side front quarter panel. When officers arrived on the scene, a witness of the collision was performing CPR on the pedestrian. The victim was transported by Ocean City Emergency Services to PRMC in Salisbury for treatment for serious injuries. No charges have been filed against the driver or the pedestrian, although the investigation is ongoing.

The incident was the third pedestrian-vehicle collision in 15 days and the second in nearly the same area of Coastal Highway and 54th Street., which resulted in a fatality.

On May 28, a 22-year-old Cooksville, Md. man was struck and killed by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed in the northbound bus lane on Coastal Highway at 54th Street. In that incident, the driver, Diogo Facchini, 30, of Lorton, Va. briefly fled the scene and continued to travel north before turning east onto 55th Street.

Witnesses at the scene followed the suspect’s vehicle until police arrived and apprehended Facchini, who has been charged with homicide by motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a fatal collision, driving while intoxicated and impaired and numerous other traffic violations.

Then, around 5:45 p.m. last Tuesday, Ocean City Police and paramedics responded to a reported vehicle accident involving a pedestrian in the area of 21st Street and Coastal Highway. The investigation revealed a group of friends were attempting to cross the highway in the area of 21st Street from east to west to catch a southbound bus. Three of the four crossed against the “don’t walk” signal to the median, then began to run across the southbound lanes of the highway, still crossing against the “don’t walk” signal.

One of the three, an unidentified 15-year-old girl from Alleghany County was struck by a vehicle in the far right southbound lane adjacent to the bus lane. The pedestrian was treated at the scene by ocean City paramedics and was transported to Atlantic General Hospital with life threatening injuries. She was later transferred to PRMC in Salisbury where she died on injuries sustained in the accident.

The common denominator in all three cases is that the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk at the time of the collisions. For years, the OCPD and the town of Ocean City has attempted to hammer home the importance of using marked crosswalks while crossing all resort streets, yet the collisions and fatalities continue. This spring, the State Highway Administration (SHA) initiated a pilot program in the resort aimed at reducing pedestrian-vehicle collisions.

In the wake of Tuesday morning’s accident, the Ocean City Police Department is again reminding citizens to use marked crosswalks while crossing the street. Pedestrians are warned not to take unnecessary risks by crossing busy streets against traffic lights. In addition, pedestrians are encouraged to make eye contact with drivers and continue to watch for traffic the entire time they are in a crosswalk.

For their part, motorists are urged to be extremely vigilant while driving, keeping constantly aware of pedestrians, bicycles, mopeds and scooters.

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