Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run crash
A pedestrian was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash Saturday night in Waunakee. According to an article posted on the WMTV website, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the death and told media reporters the victim was a pedestrian. “Officials say a man was found dead on the shoulder of US Highway 113 at […]
A pedestrian was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash Saturday night in Waunakee. According to an article posted on the WMTV website, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the death and told media reporters the victim was a pedestrian.
“Officials say a man was found dead on the shoulder of US Highway 113 at County Highway M Saturday night, just before midnight,” the article reads. “The Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Crime Lab and Reconstruction Team investigated the crash for about nine hours.”
The name of the victim had not been released as of Wednesday morning and the investigation is ongoing.
The Dane County Sherriff’s Office is asking for witnesses to come forward and speak to detectives.
“Anyone who witnessed the crash and has not spoken to deputies or detectives is asked to call the Dane County Sheriff’s Office at 608-284-6900.”
No information in regards to a vehicle or suspect description was mentioned in the article. The number of pedestrian fatalities in the United States increased 19 percent from 2009 to 2014, a period in which total traffic deaths decreased by about 4 percent.
Pedestrians now account for the largest proportion of traffic fatalities recorded in the past 25 years. Earlier studies by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), based on preliminary data reported by State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs), were the first to predict recent increases in pedestrian fatalities.
The present study, based on preliminary data from all states and the District of Columbia (DC) for the first six months of 2015, found an increase of 6 percent in the reported number of fatalities compared with the first six months of 2014. After adjusting for anticipated underreporting in the preliminary state data, GHSA estimates there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of pedestrians killed in 2015 compared with 2014.
In addition, pedestrian deaths as a percent of total motor vehicle crash deaths have increased steadily from 11 percent in 2005-2007 to 15 percent in 2014. It has been 25 years (1990) since pedestrians accounted for 15 percent of total traffic fatalities.
The rate of pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people in Wisconsin for 2014 based on FARS crash data and US Census population data is 0.78, according to GHSA data.
There were 15 pedestrian fatalities in Wisconsin for the first six months of 2014 and 22 for the first six months of 2015, the latest data available from GHSA.
