A young boy who was out trick or treating with his family was run over and killed this weekend in a part of Minneapolis that was busy with children crossing the streets. Police are investigating the fatal accident and the car’s driver was cooperating. The child was 5 years old and became caught under the vehicle. Early reports said passers-by help lift the car while the boy’s father pulled him out. He was rushed to the emergency room at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he died. The Halloween fatal crash happened on Victory Memorial Parkway near Knox Avenue North on the city’s North Side.
A police spokesman told KARE-11 TV news that the area had drawn large numbers of trick-or-treaters on Halloween, so the boy was hit in an area that had a “great deal of pedestrian traffic.” Police also said that there were no early indications of alcohol or drugs as an impairment in the driver, but the investigation will delve into the speed of the vehicle and whether the driver was distracted, among other factors. A white cross, flowers and other mementos were left at the scene. “Hijo” was written on the cross — the Spanish word for “son.”
Everyone in our society is a pedestrian, sharing the road with drivers of all sorts of vehicles. This time of year, with Daylight Saving Time over, darkness begins sooner and most pedestrian deaths happen in the dark. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrians are one of the few groups to experience an increase in fatalities. The most recent year for which statistics are available is 2013. In that year, there were 4,753 deaths across the country — a 15 percent increase from 2009. In the same five-year period, overall traffic fatalities fell by 3.4 percent, the study found. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, pedestrian deaths now comprise 14 percent of all traffic fatalities with one pedestrian death happening ever two hours somewhere in the U.S.
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Safety researchers have concluded that alcohol impairment is the biggest contributing factor in our pedestrian deaths, but cell phone distractions and other distractions also have contributed to the rise in fatalities of people crossing roadways on foot. In addition, the Department of Transportation notes that October 31st is one of the most dangerous nights of the year because of the deadly combination of increased alcohol use, distractions and heavy pedestrian traffic. More than one-quarter (28 percent) of Halloween crash fatalities are pedestrians, compared to 14 percent on an average day.
Contact a car accident lawyer for a free discussion of your rights as an injured person or as a surviving family member of someone dear to you who has been lost in a crash. Our attorneys conduct independent investigations to determine all facts, including many not included in police reports. We believe a detailed understanding of what happened allows us to best hold the responsible party accountable for what has happened. When appropriate, we will file a pedestrian death lawsuit.
