Vehicles 38, Pedestrians 0

Thursday, March 29, 2007

About 90 pedestrians are killed each year on the streets of the Washington region. Think about that: almost eight a month. Dead.

Twenty-two have been killed in just the past three months.

And that doesn't include the critically injured, the maimed, the bruised. Many are injured here each year. By cars, sport-utility vehicles, buses, trucks, and even bicycles and police vehicles.

We drive too fast, we dart into the street, we're distracted by work, by cellphones, by iPods. Is it worth your life?

The District, Maryland and Virginia, in a campaign called "Steel vs. Flesh -- It's No Contest," are cracking down on jaywalkers with $10 tickets and on drivers who don't yield to walkers with $50 fines. Police say 38 people have been hit since January. Here are some of the cases.

Killed

Jan. 5: A car kills an 80-year-old woman in a parking garage at Arlington's Ballston Common Mall.

Jan. 6: A car kills a 43-year-old woman crossing Route 236 in Lexington Park.

Jan. 7: A car fatally injures a woman standing behind her car after a minor accident on Route 7 in Baileys Crossroads.

Jan. 12: A pickup truck kills a 35-year-old man jaywalking on Columbia Pike in Falls Church.

Jan. 14: A woman is killed after lying in front of a bus on Richmond Highway in Beacon Hill.

Jan. 16: A Metrobus making a left turn kills a 24-year-old woman in Mount Pleasant.

Jan. 17: A car kills a 25-year-old woman walking against the light in a crosswalk on Algonkian Parkway in Sterling.

Feb. 3: A 58-year-old man dies after a bicycle hits him as he crosses New Hampshire Avenue NW.

Feb. 7: A cement mixer kills a man on New York Avenue.

Feb. 9: A 6-year-old boy walking in a crosswalk to his bus stop is killed by a Jeep Cherokee at Sargent Road.

Feb. 10: An SUV kills a man jaywalking on New York Avenue NE.

Feb. 14: A Metrobus making a left kills two women in a crosswalk at Seventh Street NW.

Feb. 16: A car kills a 46-year-old woman crossing Ritchie Highway at night, then she's run over by a second vehicle.

Feb. 17: A Metrobus kills a 21-year-old woman after she steps out of a car in Southeast.

Feb. 23: A 55-year-old is killed crossing Richmond Highway in Hybla Valley.

Feb. 26: A hit-and-run driver leaves a 38-year-old man dead on Kenilworth Avenue in Riverdale Park.

Feb. 28: A car kills a 29-year-old man jaywalking on Edsall Road in Alexandria.

March 3: A 23-year-old is killed crossing against the traffic signal in Rockville.

March 9: A car fatally injures a 69-year-old woman jaywalking on South Van Dorn Street in Alexandria.

March 15: A man waiting beside his car after a fender-bender is killed by a pickup truck on Leesburg Pike.

March 23: A 50-year-old woman is killed by a vehicle as she tries to cross Connecticut Avenue in Keinsington on her way to religious services.

Injured

Jan. 1: A hit-and-run driver strikes a 24-year-old man who stepped into the car's path on Annandale Road in Falls Church.

Jan. 8: A 54-year-old woman's foot is severed when a tanker at 14th and G streets NW hits her in the crosswalk.

Jan. 24: A 61-year-old woman jaywalking across Route 40 in Ellicott City is in serious condition after being struck by a car.

Feb. 13: A car loses control on ice on Route 50 in Bowie and injures two pedestrians.

Feb. 24: A Metrobus hits a stroller and injures a 3-year-old at Half and O streets SW.

March 8: An SUV running a red light hits two boys in a crosswalk on Georgia Avenue NW.

March 12: A police cruiser injures a 14-year-old girl when she changes directions on Mount Olivet Road in Northeast.

March 14: A tour bus making a left turn injures a pedestrian in a crosswalk at Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW.

March 15: A couple get off a bus and are hit by a car near Tenley Circle. The driver flees.

March 20: A 22-year-old man is seriously injured when he is struck by a hit-and-run driver on 14th Street NW.

March 23: A van critically injures a 15-year-old boy in a crosswalk on Route 214 in Edgewater.

March 26: A woman is knocked down and bruised by a car while attempting to cross Old Georgetown Road at Greentree Road.

March 27: A 13-year-old Kensington girl is seriously injured by a car crossing a four-lane Bethesda street; the driver didn't see her.

-- Meg Smith