Florida Highway Patrol works to reduce deadly crashes, focus on pedestrian safety

ST. CLOUD, Fla. — Pedestrian safety has been the focus of local law enforcement, with two deadly crashes in Central Florida.

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According to the latest statistics, Central Florida is averaging about four pedestrian crashes every single day.

The latest fatal crashes happened in Mims in Brevard County and St. Cloud in Osceola County.

According to the incident report, a Honda Civic was heading southbound here on Narcoosee Road just south of Jones Road when the pedestrian decided to run across the street.

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According to the report, the pedestrian was “pronounced deceased on-scene.” She was 63 years old.

A 37-year-old woman died in the Mims crash. In both cases, the victims were not at a marked crosswalk.

“In a lot of these cases, the pedestrians are not walking in a crosswalk, and by the time the divers do see them, it’s way too late,” said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Migdalissi Garcia.

Read: FHP: Brevard County man dies in crash along US-1

We check the latest Florida Dept of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles statistics for Central Florida.

However, the number of pedestrian crashes piked from 2021 to 2022 by more than 1000. The number of deaths dropped by 11.

So far, through October, there have been 1,275 crashes and 114 deaths in 2023.

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“Usually, these crashes happen in dark-lit areas with pedestrians wearing dark clothing,” Garcia said.

When walking at night, you should wear bright-colored clothing and always use a crosswalk.

“It’s not just the pedestrians’ job to make sure they are seen but as well as the drivers,” Garcia said. “They need to be responsible and look around and make sure you are paying attention to the roadway because you just never know.”

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