A 16-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), when a hit-ad-run driver struck her as she walked to school on a Monday morning. The nearly fatal collision happened in the 1100 block of Park Avenue near the intersection with E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, and police continued searching for the fleeing driver days after the crash.
According to news reports, the teenaged pedestrian was on their way to Booker T. Washington High School when the vehicle struck them. Fellow students witnessed the incident, but the driver sped off so quickly that no one was able to identify the color or make of the vehicle.
The severely injured teen was taken to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. Officials listed them in critical but stable condition late on the afternoon on Monday.
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A person who lives close to the scene of the hit-and-run collision told a reporter that drivers run a nearby stoplight “all the time.” But it must be noted that details of why this crash on Park Avenue occurred have not been made public.
What is known is that crashes resulting in injuries to and deaths of pedestrian in Norfolk have happened with alarming frequency since the beginning of 2022. In fact, a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run pedestrian crash occurred in the 1700 block of E. Little Creek Road on the night of March 1. Police have made an arrest in connection with that incident.
Drivers Must Share the Road With Pedestrians
During 2020, just short of 1,250 motor vehicle crashes on Virginia roads and highways involved pedestrians. Those collisions resulted in 113 deaths and sent another 1,129 pedestrians to hospitals with injuries.
Pedestrians using crosswalks or people crossing streets at corners accounted for the highest numbers of victims in these crashes. So, while it is undeniable that pedestrians have legally enforceable duties to yield to cars, trucks and other vehicles in most situations, drivers often fail to meet their own duties to share the road responsibly and respectfully.
Without a doubt, the drivers responsible for the most-recent pedestrian crashes in Norfolk on Park Avenue and E. Little Creek Road made those situations much, much worse by not stopping to possibly render first aid or speak with police. But the crashes probably would not have happened at all if the drivers had followed simple rules such as stopping for people in crosswalks or obeying the speed limit and stop signals.
While no amount of monetary compensation could ever make the situations right, the families of the pedestrians who fell prey to the hit-and-drivers in Norfolk should be able to file insurance claims under the uninsured motorist provisions of their own car insurance policies. Speaking with a knowledgeable personal injury and wrongful death attorney in Virginia will clarify that process.
EJL