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E-mail StoryPedestrian deaths hit quick pace this year
| Friday, Mar 28 2008 5:08 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Mar 31 2008 7:39 AM
The number of pedestrians killed by vehicles in Kern County this year is on pace to pass its highest total in at least the past five years.
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- 2003 — 21
- 2004 — 18
- 2005 — 25
- 2006 — 31
- 2007 — 19
- 2008 — 8 (as of March 28)
Eight pedestrian deaths have been reported from Jan. 1 through March 28, Supervising Deputy Coroner John Van Rennselaer said. If the numbers continue at that pace, the county would have 32 deaths by the end of the year. The highest number the past five years was 31 in 2006.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Komin said pedestrians should help ensure their safety by using crosswalks and looking both ways several times before crossing the street. Parents need to watch their children and stay by their side as they cross the street.
There were several pedestrian deaths this month alone.
On March 16, a 39-year-old hitchhiker was in the westbound lane of Highway 58 near Highway 202 in Tehachapi when a semi-truck hit and killed him, coroner’s office reports said.
Just a few days earlier, a 12-year-old girl died after being hit at Highway 43 and Filburn Street in Wasco. Martha Perez was running westbound across the highway when she was struck, according to the coroner’s office.
Perez’s mother had already crossed the street and told her daughter to run to catch up.
Phillip Terry Hagar, 45, ran onto Rosedale Highway on March 6 in an apparent attempt to rescue a dog in the roadway. Hagar was struck by a car and died. The dog was euthanized because of its injuries.