A 20-year-old Bellevue woman was tragically killed in Bellevue on the afternoon of Monday, February 24th. The woman, identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s office as Judith Lopez-Guerrero, was struck by a commercial truck while crossing Northeast 12th Street near 124th Avenue Northeast. Severe head injury was listed the cause of death.
The Bellevue Police Department investigated the accident. It was not yet know if Lopez-Guerrero was using a crosswalk. Drugs or alcohol were not believed to be a factor in this fatal pedestrian accident.
Pedestrian Fatalities All Too Frequent
The Seattle area has had a string of vexing pedestrian fatality accidents in recent months, including:
– December 29, 2013, a 69-year old victim was killed in West Seattle when struck at night.
– November 14, 2013, a 76 year-old woman was hit and killed by a car at night in Shoreline.
– October 28, 2013, a man was struck and killed by a Metro bus in the early morning on Capitol Hill.
In addition to fatality accidents, there have been a number of pedestrians critically injured in vehicle vs. pedestrian accidents in Seattle in recent months.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),the percentage of of pedestrian fatalities has increased from 11% to 14% since 2002. The NHTSA reported 4,432 pedestrian fatalities in 2011, or one every two hours in the U.S. Pedestrian injuries occurred every eight minutes in traffic collisions.
Based on a study by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center pedestrian fatalities are increasing, which may be attributed to distracted driving. Texting, web surfing, and other mobile devices usage while driving has become a serious public health threat.
Pedestrian Accident Victim Rights
While pedestrians must too follow the rules of the roads, vehicles must yield to pedestrians at marked crosswalks or at an unmarked roadway intersections. Vehicles must stop or they will be legally at fault for any collisions. Under the law, drivers must also exercise “due care” to avoid a collision with a pedestrian.
If you or a loved one have been a victim of a pedestrian accident, call the experienced pedestrian accident lawyers at Bishop Legal. We help defend the legal rights of victims and seek to obtain the maximum compensation for injuries and damages.
