TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Police are reminding pedestrians and drivers of the prevention measures they need to be taking after the city has seen a rise in deadly auto-pedestrian crashes.
“Any victim in an auto-pedestrian collision is a tragedy,” Tulsa PD Traffic Safety Coordinator Lieutenant Paul Madden said.
It’s a tragedy he says is happening with more regularity.
“Last year we had 19 auto-pedestrian fatalities,” Madden said. “This year we’re already at 16.”
FOX23 introduced you to the family of one of those victims earlier this week. Katie Schmitt’s sister, 49-year-old Sheryl Douglas, died after being hit by a truck when she stepped off a bus and attempted to cross 81st street on Monday.
“I’m just hoping something comes out of this, something good,” Schmitt said.
Madden says that good come through teaching a potentially life-saving lesson.
“A car is going to win that collision,” Madden said.
He says the collisions often start with a pedestrian stepping into an unsafe spot.
“Probably the most common occurrence is going to be pedestrians crossing the street where they shouldn’t be crossing the street,” he said.
He says only ever cross at well-lit crosswalks, and only cross when it’s clear.
“Please don’t try and beat the car,” he said.
As for drivers, most of the time they don’t even walk away with a ticket. That is, unless they were found to have been going over the speed limit or otherwise driving recklessly.
“More often than not, the drivers are not found to be a contributing factor.”
But that doesn’t mean they can’t be part of the solution too.
“Pay attention to the inside and outside of your vehicle, drive the speed limit, and know this… that pedestrians are going to be crossing the roadway,” he said. “So it’s incumbent upon the driver to do what they can to avoid collisions.”
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