RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — While the number of pedestrians hit or killed in crashes across the Richmond area so far this year is lower than this time last year in many jurisdictions, one police department has seen an alarming trend.
A Chesterfield County Police Department spokesperson told 8News that three pedestrians have been killed by drivers in the county so far in 2024. That’s just one fewer than the number of pedestrians killed in crashes during all of 2023, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Not all Richmond-area police departments have seen a significant jump in the number of pedestrian crashes. A spokesperson at the Richmond Police Department said there have been 21 pedestrian crashes in the city as of mid-February, none of which resulted in fatalities. At the same time last year, the city had 29 crashes — four of which were fatal.
“The city has been working to increase the infrastructure in the area they’ve installed speed tables,” said Lt. Brian Rogers of Richmond Police. “That’s the first step I would say in solving the problem is just to get the motorists to slow down, and the speed tables certainly help,”
A spokesperson for the Henrico County Division of Police told 8News there have been ten pedestrian crashes with two of those being fatal so far this year, compared to 11 crashes with three fatalities in the same time frame in 2023.
AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson, Morgan Dean, reminds drivers to pay attention on the roads to avoid hitting pedestrians. He also urged pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings and wear reflective clothing if they’re out at night.
“It does seem like we’ve had a lot of crashes here recently. Always a good reminder to pedestrians and drivers to do everything that they can to be safe along the roadway,” Dean said.
