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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingSalt Lake's mayor has asked people to be more aware of pedestrians and bicyclists, but despite his pleas, this morning we saw yet another auto-pedestrian crash in Salt Lake.
A man in his 60s was crossing Redwood Road early this morning when a school bus trying to turn left hit him. There were no kids on the bus, but the pedestrian was sent to LDS hospital in critical condition.
The man crossing Redwood Road early this morning was right where he was supposed to be, in the crosswalk, but he was still hit by a school bus driver.
Jody Turner, Witness: "The bus turned and hit him and knocked him about 10 feet out of the crosswalk."
The bus driver apparently didn't see the man, who was thrown to the ground and possibly injured his head.
Lt. Mike Ross, Salt Lake Police Department: "It's real important that all drivers and pedestrians make sure they're following the proper signals at this location because it's a fairly dark intersection."
No matter what the intersection is like, police say drivers need to be extra careful. In the last week alone, KSL has covered five auto-pedestrian accidents.
On the 9th, two cars hit a West Valley man who darted out on a dark street in Herriman. The man died at the scene.
Later that day, a driver hit a Wal-Mart customer and employee in the store's parking lot in Taylorsville.
The next morning, a driver hit an eight-year-old boy not using the crosswalk to get to Lincoln Elementary school.
And the following afternoon, a car hit a woman waiting to cross a street on a bike. That driver took off.
Rocky Anderson, Oct. 10: "We need to do absolutely everything we can to make our streets safer for motorists and bicyclists."
Last week Salt Lake City launched a new program called "Street Smarts." Extra officers hit the streets to educate motorists about pedestrian laws. Starting today, the education is over and enforcement begins. Officers will now be ticketing drivers who break the laws. Drivers face a 92-dollar ticket if they don't yield to pedestrians who have the right of way.
Pedestrians have responsibilities too. The city says they will ticket people for jaywalking and crossing the street on a red light.
