I-64 Accident Near Richmond, VA Leaves Pedestrian Dead | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Police have few answers to the why questions, but the fact that a man walking on I-64 near Richmond, Virginia (VA), during the early morning hours of March 4, 2012, lost his life after being struck by a car is all too clear. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the police received a call about the fatal accident at 5:18 am and responded to the scene at the Nine Mile Road exit from the interstate in Henrico County.


View a larger map of the Nine Mil Road exit from I-64 near Richmond, VA, where a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car.

No charges have been filed against the at-fault drive who stopped after colliding with the pedestrian and who has been identified by the media as a 23-year-old from Blacksburg, VA. News reports also indicate that the man who was killed had been walking in the right-hand traffic lane before the deadly crash.

Police continue to investigate the accident and its primary cause. Regardless of the findings, I offer my condolences to the friends and family members of the victim. I also know, as a Virginia wrongful death attorney, that no finding of criminal negligence or wrongdoing is necessary to make the driver civilly liable for causing this loss of life. I’m sure it’s too soon for the man’s loved ones to consider such issues, however.

More than anything else, this sad situation highlights once more the dangers people face when they find themselves out of their vehicles and on foot  on the interstate. Individuals behind the wheel of cars and trucks must always be on the lookout for pedestrians because, literally, walkers’ lives are in drivers’ hands.

EJL