Tragic Pedestrian Crash Reported on Jim Christian Road in Lillington, North Carolina (NC)

LILLINGTON, NC - Cbs7.com writes that a car struck and killed a pedestrian on Jim Christian Road this week. The incident occurred close to Lillington in Hartnett County. After striking the victim, the driver fled the scene of the wreck.*

The pedestrian, a 49-year-old man, was in the roadway when the car struck him. A driver traveling through the scene spotted the victim in the road and contacted police in the very early morning. Police are now searching for the hit-and-run driver but have not yet been able to identify the car or the suspect. 

One study found that North Carolina ranks seventeenth in the country in deaths caused by hit-and-run drivers. The AAA studied the growing number of fatal crashes involving fleeing motorists and found that these incidents rose by about 60 percent in less than ten years. 

The majority of victims in these instances are pedestrians and cyclists. In fact, these individuals account for about 65 percent of all people killed by hit-and-run drivers. 

When it comes to explaining the reason that so many pedestrians are dying in these crashes, the likely reason is simply the presence of opportunity. Drivers who hit a person on the road may cause fatal injuries to the victim, but their car will often be minimally damaged. In a fatal multiple-vehicle collision, the cars are often wrecked and undrivable. While people do flee the scene of fatal crashes between multiple cars, fleeing is often not a viable option. 

The rise in pedestrian deaths could be one reason that fatal hit-and-runs are increasing throughout the nation. However, the AAA did also notice a slight increase in deadly multiple vehicle hit-and-runs over the same period. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/pedestrian-killed-in-hit-and-run-in-harnett-county-tuesday-morning-troopers-say/

https://www.cars.com/articles/hit-and-run-deaths-are-way-up-how-dangerous-is-your-state-1420699813513/