In 2009, Atlanta had 45 fatal car accidents, and a surprising number of
those accidents involved Atlanta pedestrians. Thirteen of the 45 accidents
involved a pedestrian who was struck and killed by a car. Of the 47 people
who lost their lives in the 45 car wrecks that occurred in 2008, 13 of
them were pedestrians.
As a lawyer who represents Atlanta car accident victims, I meet with many
devastated families and seriously injured people. My goal is to look at
the data about how and when Atlanta’s car accidents are occurring,
in hopes we can draw some conclusions about how to minimize the number
of people who are killed or seriously injured on Atlanta’s roads
each year. I am currently looking at
Atlanta pedestrian deaths.
On January 30, 2009, a car struck and killed a pedestrian at the intersection
of SR-237 and Lenox Road 1/30/09.
In March of that year, a truly shocking five different car accidents killed
pedestrians here in Atlanta. On March 4, 2009, a pedestrian was struck
and killed at the juncture of Moreland Ave. / SR-42 and Sanders Avenue.
On March 16, 2009, a person walking along I-85 here in Atlanta was killed
by a car driving on the interstate.
On March 21, 2009, a pedestrian died after being hit by a car on Boulevard
here in Atlanta.
That same month, a pedestrian died when a car hit him at the intersection of
Lee Street and York Avenue on March 27, 2009.
The day was truly horrific for pedestrians, as well as for Atlanta police
and emergency personnel. That same day, on March 27, 2009, a person walking
along SR-400 was hit by a car and killed.
In April of 2009, on the 24th of the month, a car hit and killed a pedestrian
at the intersection of Metropolitan Pkwy. and Cleveland Ave here in Atlanta.
In July of that year, in 2009, a pedestrian died after being hit by a car
while he was walking on D.L. Hollowell Pkwy. (Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy.).
In August, another pedestrian lost his life, this time while walking along
I-75. That accident took place on August 15, 2009, in the Atlanta city limits.
The next month, on September 6, 2009, a pedestrian was struck and killed
at the intersection of Boulevard and Cassanova St.
The month of September was the second deadliest of the year for Atlanta
pedestrians. Three pedestrians were struck and killed that month. The
first death occurred on September 10, 2009, at the intersection of Cleveland
Ave. and Browns Mill Rd. The second death of the month occurred on September
15, 2009, when a pedestrian died after being hit by a car at the intersection
of Hobart Dr. and Vanderbilt Ct. The final Atlanta pedestrian death of
the month and the year happened on September 29, 2009 on Campbellton Rd.
I pull these statistics from a database kept by the National Highway Traffic
and Safety Administration (NHTSA). The database, called
FARS, includes data about every fatal car crash in the United States. The database
does not include information about car crashes that do not include a death,
regardless of how serious the personal injuries incurred in the wreck
were. Thus, while FARS contains very useful information, it omits a number
of very serious injury car wrecks, even ones where someone had multiple
broken bones, became paralyzed (quadriplegic or paraplegic) or had a serious
back injury, had a serious head injury, etc.