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Although overall traffic deaths appear to be on the decline, the number of pedestrian traffic deaths seems to be on the rise, according to data provided by the Governors Highway Safety Association.
In Escambia County, Dustin Blake McFadden Smith was tragically struck and killed by two semi-trucks. The accident occurred on Highway 29 in Bluff Springs. According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Smith 21 was standing in the outside southbound lane of Highway 29 near Byrneville Road when he was first hit by a semi truck drive by Russell A. Joseph, of Repton, Alabama. Smith was then struck again by a semi driven by Ashley Wayne Hawkins, of Dozier, Alabama. She was unable to see Smith in the roadway because of poor lighting, said the FHP.
Both trucks stopped after the accident, and one of the truck drivers called 911 to report that they hit a pedestrian. Smith was found by Escambia County’s first responders lying in the road of Highway 29 and was announced dead at the scene. The FHP believed Smith may have been involved in a single vehicle crash prior to being struck by the semi trucks; Smith’s vehicle was found at the edge of a wooded area off the roadway. According to the FHP, charges are pending the results of the traffic homicide investigation.
Florida follows California with the highest number of pedestrian deaths. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association report, there were more pedestrian accident fatalities in 2010 than in the previous four years. For more information on this topic, see pedestrian struck and killed on highway 29.