Pedestrian Killed in Accident
A 64-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed while crossing 34th Street N. The accident happened at approximately 9:35 p.m. on June 28, 2016. The pedestrian was hit by 31-year-old Kendra Thompson, who was traveling northbound on 34th Street N near the intersection of 33rd Avenue N. The Tampa Bay Times reported that the pedestrian died at the scene.
The newspaper did not report enough details in order to come to any firm conclusions on liability. On one hand, this area of St. Petersburg is known for pedestrian crossings despite the high volume of traffic on the roadway. Therefore, drivers on this particular stretch of roadway should always remain vigilant of the possibility that there is going to be a pedestrian in the roadway. If a driver sees a pedestrian crossing the roadway, that driver is legally obligated to take evasive action to avoid hitting the pedestrian if at all possible. Regardless of who has the "right of way" and who does not, we owe that to our fellow man.
On the other hand, section 316.130(10), Florida Statutes, states: "Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway." In this particular case, the pedestrian does not appear to have been in a crosswalk. Therefore, it is possible that the pedestrian misjudged traffic and improperly entered the roadway. Notwithstanding that statute, Florida is a comparative negligence state. This means that a jury weighs the fault of the parties to a lawsuit and it comes down to a percentage of fault attributable to each respective party. Therefore, a legal result in a case such as this one could easily be 50% fault on the pedestrian for failing to yield the right of way, but also 50% fault on the driver for either speeding or failing to pay proper attention to the roadway and taking evasive action to avoid hitting the pedestrian.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, please contact a Central Florida car accident lawyer for a free consultation. In that consultation, the lawyer should make an analysis like what I have done above. There are many other factors that may be influential in decisions regarding the claim.
