Authorities promote road safety after fatalities - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

It's been a rough year on Richmond roads. Sharing it isn't something we've necessarily seen among drivers, cyclists and pedestrians lately. People have been injured and in some incidents killed in high profile cases.

Last October, a hotel valet ran over and killed Josie Stone while she was walking on a sidewalk in downtown Richmond.

Back in July, Lanie Kruszewski was killed while riding her bike on River Road. Prosecutors say Elias Webb has admitted to driving the SUV, which hit her.

Then in August, Jeffrey Shawn Smith was walking home on Walmsley Boulevard, when police say a driver struck and killed him and kept going.

As recently as Saturday night, we're told a cyclist was injured in a possible hit and run on Chamberlayne Parkway.

Now, officers, EMS responders and safety advocates are hitting the streets. They're stopping cyclists and pedestrians with a safety message before that worst case scenario happens again.

"We have a number of very significant injuries, internal injuries, people that are unconscious, unresponsive, people that are in complete cardiac trauma arrest when we get there," Richmond Ambulance Authority Director of Operations Dempsey Whitt described.

According to RAA in the last 1200 days, 374 pedestrians have been hit. If you do the math, that turns out to be about one every three days.

If you look at statistics for cyclists, 156 of them have been hit on Richmond roads in the last year. That works out to be about one every two days.

Many agencies blame the up tick in these kinds of accidents on modern technology and the distractions it provides.

"These types of situations where we come out into the community, talk to them about what their responsibility is is always a plus if we can save a couple lives here and there," Richmond Police Lt. William Kelly explained.

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