Seven pedestrians hit in six days in Annapolis Valley

A spate of car-pedestrian collisions in the Annapolis Valley earlier this month has police reminding motorists and people on foot to be aware of what’s happening around them.

Between Oct. 12 and Oct. 17 there were seven collisions involving pedestrians in Kings and West Hants counties. Most involved people in marked crosswalks.

 On Oct. 12, a 77-year-old man suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries when he was struck in a crosswalk by an SUV just before 11 a.m. on Gerrish Street in Windsor.

On Oct. 13, a 34-year-old man was struck by a car while in a crosswalk on Commercial Street in New Minas just before 7 a.m.  He had minor injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment.

That afternoon, just after 1:15 p.m. a child suffered only minor injuries when they were struck in a crosswalk on Main Street in Kentville.

Five hours later, at 6:15 p.m. a 17-year-old teenager suffered non-life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a car while in a crosswalk on Park Street, also in Kentville. He was taken to hospital by ambulance.

On Oct. 16 at about 7:40 p.m., another pedestrian was struck in Kentville while crossing Cornwallis Street.

On Oct. 17, just after 8:45 a.m., a 76-year-old woman was in a crosswalk on Main Street in Wolfville when she was struck by an SUV. She was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Later that day, at about 2:45 p.m. a nine-year-old child was struck while walking along the side of Avondale Road in Newport.

Cpl. Chris Marshall said the child had stepped off a school bus a short while before and was walking along the road, but the bus had shut down its red lights and started driving to the next stop. The child suffered serious injuries that were not life-threatening, and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Tickets have been issued in some of the incidents, while others are still under investigation.

Marshall said that more often that not, collisions involving pedestrians happen in marked crossings.

“The lion’s share of the time it does involve someone crossing in a marked crosswalk,” he said.

Marshall said any community with sidewalks is likely going to have crosswalks as well, so that should be a cue for drivers to be particularly aware of their surroundings and make sure they’re driving at an appropriate speed and have enough time to stop if they’re approaching a crosswalk.

“It’s always good to scan either side of the road when they’re approaching a crosswalk,” he said.

Likewise, he said, its important for pedestrians to make sure they engage any warning lights that may be at a crosswalk and make sure traffic has stopped before stepping out.

“The pedestrian certainly has the right of way, but it is a shared responsibility in terms of making sure that everybody stays safe and is aware of their surroundings,” Marshall said.

He said at this time of the year, with the sun low in the sky at suppertime and shining directly in drivers’ eyes it’s even more important for pedestrians to make sure a vehicle has stopped before they cross.