ARIZONA NEWS
2 pedestrians struck by vehicles, killed in Phoenix in same day
Mar 1, 2019, 8:00 AM
PHOENIX — An 18-year-old pedestrian was killed Thursday after she was struck by a car in Phoenix, the second such fatality of the day in the city.
Phoenix Police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson said in an email that Mercedes Durham was crossing Butler Drive at Seventh Street around 4 p.m. when a 22-year-old man in a pickup truck struck her.
Thompson said the driver was making a right turn onto Seventh Street when he hit Durham, who was in the crosswalk. He remained on scene and neither speed nor impairment seem to be a factor.
The investigation is ongoing.
Chris Hamilton, 37, was struck by a car and killed around 3 a.m. Thursday after crossing at 27th Avenue and McDowell Road.
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The 45-year-old driver in that incident also remained on scene. Impairment also does not appear to be a factor.
Arizona is one of the most dangerous states in the country for pedestrians, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association’s preliminary annual report.
The Grand Canyon State had the nation’s second-highest rate of pedestrian traffic deaths per capita in the first half of 2018.
And with 125, Arizona ranked fifth nationally in number of pedestrian traffic deaths from January through June, an increase of 12 percent from the same time in 2017.
