Although the town has increased pedestrian safety efforts, town officials say they won’t work if pedestrians don’t follow the law.
A woman was turning her black Jeep Grand Cherokee left onto Rosemary Street when she struck a man crossing the road Tuesday, said Lt. Robert Patton of Orange County Dispatch.
The pedestrian was walking south toward North Columbia Street, and the emergency call was placed at 4:20 p.m. Police and fire crews arrived at the rainy scene two minutes later.
Lt. Charles Quinlan of the Chapel Hill Police Department said the victim was transported to UNC Hospitals with leg injuries.
He said the driver had a green turning arrow by all witness accounts, and the pedestrian, whose name has yet to be released, had a do-not-cross signal. The driver did not stop after the incident.
The pedestrian’s violation of the law will be noted in the accident report and is punishable by citation, Quinlan said.
“If the crosswalk says don’t walk, you can’t walk,” Quinlan said.
Rainer Dammers, the chairman of the town’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory board, said the group regularly hears from residents who want pedestrians to more closely follow crossing regulations.
“We’ve had petitions by citizens and had police officers there to discuss an enforcement of traffic rules not just for cars but also for bicyclists and pedestrians,” Dammers said.
