Pedestrian Fatally Injured near Intersection

News Events

A female pedestrian crossing the street at 50th Street E and Broadway Avenue E was fatally injured when she was hit by a car. The accident happened at approximately 3:42 a.m. (early Saturday morning). No charges will be filed against the driver of the car as a result of this accident as the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk at the time of the accident. According to police, the driver claims that the pedestrian “darted out” before getting hit.

Driver’s Duty In Florida To Avoid A Collision With A Pedestrian

Pedestrian traffic rules can be found in section 316.130, Florida Statutes. One of the issues that should be evaluated in this case is whether there were “adjacent intersections” with crosswalks to make it illegal for the pedestrian to cross. It can be argued that the next street over to the east does not have a crosswalk or a traffic signal and therefore, the absolute prohibition on crossing outside of a crosswalk may not actually apply to this case.

As such, pedestrians are allowed to cross anywhere else outside of a crosswalk if they yield to traffic. Additionally, subsection 15 of the same statute states “Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian“. Therefore, even if a pedestrian is doing the wrong thing, the driver of a car is required to take all reasonable actions (“due care”) to avoid colliding with the pedestrian.

This means paying proper attention to the roadway. So, while the police and the driver may take the position that the pedestrian “darted” out, the truth may be that the driver of the car was preoccupied with the radio, a cell phone, or just looking around rather than paying attention to what is in front in the roadway.