NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Tuesday night at around 8:00 p.m., North Little Rock police found a 71-year-old man dead at the intersection of JFK Boulevard and Osage Drive.
The incident was another painful reminder for Casey Covington, Executive Director for Metroplan, who explained that though he doesn't know many details of what happened at that intersection there's one thing he's sure of.
"I would say it continually stays sad," he said. "The general design and characteristics of the roadway are consistent with where else we would see, an often, a number of fatalities and serious injuries."
He explained how it was another crash they don't want to see. Metroplan works to help lower the number of crashes involving pedestrians— and adding another to the total was tough for him to see.
"We have 130 people that were killed in crashes in Central Arkansas last year," Covington said. "31 of those were pedestrians, and personally, I think that's too many."
Of those crashes, 271 of those involved someone that was not in a car. That's only one percent of the 25,762 total crashes we saw last year in Central Arkansas, but as Covington said, any is too many.
"There are a number of locations throughout Central Arkansas where there are a high number of pedestrian crashes," he said.
With more people out and about for summer, Covington explained that it's a good reminder to keep an eye out— whether you're on the road or crossing it.
"While the pedestrian may have the right of way, in certain situations, we would encourage people to know your surroundings, look at the other drivers," he said. "That's the best way to be safe."