PINE RIDGE — A man is dead after he was struck by a North Carolina Highway Patrol vehicle Saturday evening.
The incident occurred on I-74 about one mile east of N.C. 89, according to county Emergency Services Director John Shelton.
Shelton said it appeared the man, who has yet to be identified, walked out in front of the vehicle. Reports from the scene indicated the unidentified pedestrian was already dead when EMS crews arrived on scene.
N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. M.W. Whitener said the accident occurred just prior to 6 p.m.
According to Whitener, it appeared that another patrol vehicle had swerved to miss the pedestrian. However, he said the second patrol car, driven by a female trooper, was unable to avoid the man.
Whitener did not release the names of any troopers involved in the incident. Whitener also did not know the speed at which the troopers were traveling and did not elaborate as to exactly what the troopers were doing at the time of the incident.
Whitener also could not say why the pedestrian was on I-74. While it may be abnormal for an individual to walk along or across a highway, it’s not prohibited under North Carolina law.
Whitener said he was not the investigating officer at the incident and had no further information to offer. He said the investigation would be led by a “motor carrier” division first sergeant.
While attempts were made to contact the investigating officer Saturday night, calls were not immediately returned.
According an American Automobile Association (AAA) publication, an average of 515 pedestrians were killed on interstate highways between the years 1993 and 2012. Pedestrian fatalities on interstates account for about 10 percent of total pedestrian fatalities, according to that organization.
The AAA publication states that nearly three-fourths of pedestrian deaths on the nation’s interstates occur between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. It also states a vast majority of pedestrians aren’t purposefully walking along or across an interstate. Instead, most are involuntarily there, having experienced car troubles or other issues.
During the 20-year period in the AAA study 309 pedestrians were killed on interstates in North Carolina.
More information regarding Saturday’s fatal accident will be available on mtairynews.com and in Tuesday’s edition of The Mount Airy News.
