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ROY — A Roy woman was hit and killed by a car while walking home from a convenience store early Friday on a dark section of road with no sidewalks.
She becomes the fifth person to die in an auto-pedestrian accident in Utah in just the past week and a half and the 45th this year.
Suzanne Starkey, 53, had walked to a nearby convenience store to get a candy bar and a drink and was returning home just before 6 a.m. when the accident occurred. She was walking with traffic along the side of the road near 3700 South and 1900 West when she was hit and killed, said Roy Police Lt. Kevin Smith.
Smith said the road was "very dark" and Starkey was wearing dark clothing.
The driver who hit Starkey stopped immediately, according to the lieutenant. Impairment was not believed to be a factor.
Some residents have commented on the Roy Police Department's Facebook page that that stretch of road is hazardous and needs sidewalks.
Smith said the incident is a reminder to all pedestrians to remain on or as close to the shoulder as possible, to wear bright or reflective clothing, carry a flashlight if possible and walk against traffic.
Four others have died in Utah auto-pedestrian accidents in less than two weeks:
• A Brigham City woman was hit and killed Thursday afternoon while crossing 400 East at 2381 North in North Ogden. Tamara Williams, 50, was trying to walk to her car at a nearby apartment complex on a dimly lit road with no crosswalks when she was hit by a southbound vehicle, police said.
• Syracuse High School student Alan La Rosa, 16, was hit and killed while crossing Antelope Drive near 1100 West in Syracuse on Dec. 10.
• Stella Ferrazzano, 5, of American Fork, was also hit and killed on Dec. 10 after darting into a parking lot moments after her mother picked her up from preschool in Lehi.
• Adam Reni was hit by two cars and killed on Dec. 7 while walking to Mt. Nebo Junior High School in Payson. It was his 14th birthday.
With the most recent crashes, the Utah Department of Transportation's website has recorded 45 fatal auto-pedestrian accidents so far in 2015. From 2010 to 2013, the number of fatal auto-pedestrian incidents ranged from 28 to 30 each year. That jumped to 37 in 2014.
That's in addition to between 90 and 110 pedestrians who have been seriously injured each year for the past five years, according to UDOT's statistics.
On Halloween night, 14-year-old girl Victoria Hillman was hit and killed by a vehicle while attempting to cross 2700 West in a marked crosswalk at 5930 South.
Unified Police Lt. Matt Visher said the majority of auto-pedestrian accidents happen in poor light, such as the early morning and evening hours. And in the majority of those cases, jaywalking is the biggest factor that contributes to auto-pedestrian accidents.
Pedestrians should always strive to make themselves as visible as possible, Visher said. When crossing the street, it should be at an intersection with stop lights or in a marked crosswalk that has either flags or flashing lights. He also recommends having a flashlight or reflective items placed on a person's clothing.
Another common factor in many auto-pedestrian crashes is that victims are often wearing dark clothing. Joggers and bicyclists are typically good about wearing reflective items, Visher said, but not always children who are walking to and from school or a friend's house.
For drivers, Visher advises being extra vigilant during the holiday season. They should expect to see more joggers and other people exercising along the roads in the morning. And because it gets darker earlier, he advises drivers to stay aware of their surroundings, even if it's a road they drive on every day.
