OCEAN CITY — After a relatively quiet early summer season in terms of collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles in Ocean City, two separate incidents over the past week resulted in two victims being flown to Shock Trauma in critical condition.
Around 2 a.m. on Thursday, Ocean City Police and EMS responded to the area of 21st Street and Philadelphia Ave. for a reported motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian. The investigation revealed a 21-year-old Adamstown, Md. man was attempting to cross the northbound lanes of Philadelphia Ave. when he was struck by a sedan.
The pedestrian was using a crosswalk at the time of the collision, but was crossing against the pedestrian signal. The victim was flown initially to PRMC in Salisbury via Maryland State Police helicopter Trooper 4, but was later transferred to Shock Trauma in Baltimore where he was listed in critical condition on Thursday afternoon.
Thursday morning’s vehicle-pedestrian collision comes on the heels of another incident last Friday afternoon. Around 1:40 p.m. on Friday, Ocean City Police responded to a reported motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian in the area of 58th Street and Coastal Highway. The victim, a 53-year-old male from Connecticut, was struck by a mid-size SUV while attempting to cross the southbound lanes of Coastal Highway. The victim was not using a marked crosswalk at the time of the collision.
The victim was treated on the scene by Ocean City EMS and initially transported to PRMC in Salisbury via Maryland State Police helicopter Trooper 4. He was later transferred to Shock Trauma in Baltimore where he was listed in critical condition. As of Monday morning, the victim was still listed in critical, but stable condition. Friday’s accident snarled mid-afternoon traffic on a late July Friday afternoon.
That incident occurred in an area of Coastal Highway identified by the State Highway Administration and town officials as a hot spot for vehicle-pedestrian collisions in recent years targeted with an extensive pedestrian safety improvement program.
In the wake of a spike in vehicle-pedestrian collisions a few years back, the Town of Ocean City partnered with the state on an extensive public awareness campaign along with physical improvements on the roadway including more signage, road markings, countdown clocks and traffic signals.
While the campaign has seen the number of incidents decline somewhat, the message apparently still needs to be hammered home in light of this week’s incidents. To that end, Ocean City Police are reminding citizens to walk smart and always use marked crosswalks when crossing Coastal Highway. Motorists are also advised to avoid distractions while driving and use extra caution in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic.
“The Ocean City Police Department continues to stress to residents and visitors to always use crosswalks and wait for the signal to change when crossing roadways in Ocean City,” said OCPD public information officer Lindsay Richard on Thursday. “Taking that extra minute to walk to a crosswalk or wait for the signal to change could prevent serious tragedies such as this one.”