OCEAN CITY — Two pedestrians were injured after getting struck by a vehicle in the area of Coastal Highway and 85th Street on Tuesday night.
After a particularly tragic start to the season with two major pedestrian collisions in May including one fatality, it had been fairly quiet on that front for much of the summer before Tuesday’s incident. Around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, two male pedestrians were attempting to cross Coastal Highway at 85th Street from west to east in the crosswalk. According to police, the pedestrian signal indicated it was safe to cross, but an unidentified driver was traveling west on 85th Street and made a left turn south onto Coastal Highway when he struck the two pedestrians. Both pedestrians were transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. No charges have been filed against the driver at this time, but could be forthcoming.
Tuesday’s incident was the first major pedestrian collision since a couple of serious incidents early in the season. Shortly after 1 a.m. on May 3, a 67-year-old Pennsylvania man was struck and killed by an Ocean City Police Chevy Tahoe patrol vehicle driven by an on-duty five-year veteran at 94th Street.
The pedestrian was crossing Coastal Highway from east to west in the north crosswalk against the pedestrian signal when he was struck by the police vehicle in drizzly, foggy conditions. The officer was traveling southbound on Coastal Highway on routine patrol at the time of the incident.
Around 10:20 p.m. on May 12, Ocean City police responded to a reported pedestrian collision at 127th Street and Coastal Highway. The investigation revealed a 19-year-old Manalapan, N.J. woman was crossing Coastal Highway from west to east in the north crosswalk against a pedestrian signal when she was struck by a vehicle and critically injured.
After a rash of serious incidents in 2012 with 44 pedestrian collisions including two fatalities, the Town of Ocean City and the State Highway Administration partnered on an aggressive Walk Smart public awareness campaign which achieved the desired results for the most part. The program included increased signage, more marked crosswalks, more countdown clocks and longer cross times. Through the first three years of the program, there were zero pedestrian fatalities before May’s incident.
