Minor injuries: pregnant pedestrian with stroller hit by car

Perhaps it was coincidence that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police were out warning pedestrians crossing streets to be careful and to obey the law. And maybe the officers were doing that because of an incident earlier that day in which a pregnant woman pushing a baby stroller was struck by a vehicle.

The woman and child were transported to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries described by police as minor. So in that sense the two were fortunate. Not all pedestrians escape collisions with motor vehicles with so little damage.

Police said the pedestrian accident was near South Tryon Street and Pressley Road. The woman reportedly stepped around a vehicle blocking the sidewalk and was struck by a passing car. The driver apparently did not see her or her stroller.

“It was scary, it was a little traumatizing,” said a witness.

A CMPD officer said that far too often, he and other cops must deliver death notifications to next of kin. It “is one of the hardest things an officer will have to do,” he said.

Last year, CMPD investigated 72 fatal crashes; 19 involving pedestrian deaths. So far this year, there have been 30 traffic fatalities, with nine pedestrians among the dead.

The officer said that many of those deaths were preventable.

In some situations, pedestrians put themselves in danger by stepping in front of traffic. In other cases, drivers are drunk, speeding, distracted or otherwise responsible for the collisions between vehicles and humans.

The results are often horrific injuries or fatalities.

The pursuit of justice and compensation begins with a phone call to a skilled personal injury attorney.