Unfortunately this is exactly what happened today to a man walking down Victory Boulevard in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA). Tragically he died after he was struck by a vehicle, which then left the scene, police said. The accident on Victory Blvd. in Portsmouth happened near the intersection of Deep Creek Boulevard.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I hope the responsible party is held to the fullest extent of the law.
Luckily there were witnesses who saw the crash which occured at 3 p.m in broad daylight and gave police a license number and vehicle description. Portsmouth Police said they have located the vehicle and its owner and are continuing to investigate.
A study done several years ago by National Highway Traffic Safety Association shows that almost 175,000 pedestrians died in all motor vehicle crashes between 1975 and 2000. In 2001, pedestrian fatalities slightly increased to 4,882. However, in 2001, pedestrian fatalities accounted for about 12 percent of all fatalities and 85 percent of all non-occupant fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. Who are these careless drivers? These numbers point to the fact that they may be drivers in your community. Car vs. pedestrian crashes happen more than you might think, sometimes right in the middle of a cross walk!
Even more staggering is the statistic that pedestrian fatalities in single vehicle crashes accounted for over 90 percent of the pedestrian fatalities from all motor vehicle crashes. This means out of every 10 pedestrians hit by a car, 9 of them died. With statistics like these you may need to look twice before crossing the street in Virginia.