Early this morning, a Metro Transit Police officer hit a pedestrian with his car near the Branch Avenue Metro Station in Prince George’s County. The police officer was not responding to an emergency and did not have any sirens or flashing lights displayed at the time of the incident.
The pedestrian, a 33-year-old woman, was “trying to cross a busy Temple Hills street.” Unfortunately, she was seriously injured and is said to be in critical condition at the hospital. The woman tried to cross the street without using a crosswalk or the walker traffic signal.
Police have not issued any citations in the accident and the Metro Transit Police officer involved in the crash has been placed on administrative duty while police continue their investigation.
Unfortunately, thousands of pedestrians are killed each year in accidents and actually, the numbers have been increasing nationwide in recent years. 2010 data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) placed Maryland as the seventh most dangerous state for pedestrians with 1.75 fatalities per 100,000 residents. However, the most recent statistics do not have Maryland ranked in the top ten for worst states for pedestrians. According to the NHTSA, nearly 3 out of 4 pedestrian deaths occur in urban environments, at intersections, during the nighttime.
In a Maryland pedestrian accident case, it must be determined whether the pedestrian was lawfully crossing the street at the time of the crash. In other words, was the pedestrian crossing the street against the signal, crossing outside the crosswalk, or texting while crossing, or was the pedestrian crossing with the “walk” signal and inside the crosswalk. Because Maryland is contributory negligence states, if the victim pedestrian is negligent in any way, they cannot recover in a civil lawsuit. Here, all evidence shows that the woman crossed the street outside of any crosswalk, which if found to be true, would prohibit her from being able to recover in this accident.
If you or a family member have been injured or killed in a pedestrian accident would like to consult an experienced personal injury attorney for free, contact our office at (410) 995-1515 to schedule an appointment to meet at our Greenbelt office or one of our other offices located throughout Maryland, or visit us online.
