Two different Roanoke collisions in two days: Advice for road safety

Roanoke, Virginia – Two pedestrian crashes in two days in Roanoke have resulted in hospitalizations, which is a worrying pattern.

Raising important questions regarding road safety in Roanoke city.
Police said that on Thursday night, a person was struck by a car as they attempted to cross Plantation Road.

The next day, according to the police, a guy was struck on Hershberger Road.

“There really hasn’t been a pattern. We’ve had them occur at crosswalks, we’ve had them occur on roads with no sidewalks, they’ve occurred at night, during the day, there’s been a variety,” Matthew Demlein, a spokesperson for Virginia State Police said.

The Virginia State Police is warning city walkers to exercise caution.

“Walk against traffic, it allows you to see traffic coming towards you and it makes yourself more visible. And really, just do everything you can to increase your visibility, and also don’t be distracted yourself. Don’t be looking at your phone if there’s traffic in the area, you want to be paying attention,” Demlein said.

However, the Virginia State Police stated that drivers must also maintain a cautious gaze in addition to pedestrians.

“Just be extra cautious, be aware of your surroundings, obviously limit distractions, just really keep your eyes on the road. A car is a dangerous vehicle, it’s a large vehicle the more careful you are with it the more likely you are to save lives.”

While there haven’t been any fatalities from the last two pedestrian incidents in Roanoke, according to Virginia State Police, as of Friday morning, there have been 21 pedestrian fatalities in Virginia this year alone. This figure is lower than the 23 pedestrian fatalities from the previous year.