Despite recent fatalities, number of pedestrian-auto deaths down

By Kyle B. Hansen

Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 | 5:39 p.m.

Despite a recent spate of high-profile pedestrian-auto accidents, including the death of a 12-year-old trick-or-treater Monday, the number of pedestrian fatalities is down this year in Las Vegas, Metro Police said.

In 2010, there were 20 pedestrians killed by vehicles in Metro’s jurisdiction, just one more than the previous year.

As of Oct. 30, there have been 15 such deaths this year. Add to that Monday’s death of 12-year-old Faith Monet Love and Tuesday’s death of a pedestrian on Las Vegas Boulevard, and the region is still below last year’s total.

The overall number of traffic fatalities in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County is also down, with 56 deaths so far this year compared to 63 last year and 75 in 2009.

But the number of all car accidents this year is up, with 19,132 accidents so far in 2011 compared to 18,928 in 2010.

The increased number of traffic deaths this year is linked to drivers under the influence of alcohol, police said. There were just seven alcohol-related crashes in 2010, but there have already been 11 this year. That’s still better than 2009, when there were 23 such deaths.

Sgt. Richard Strader of Metro’s fatal accident detail said the department cautions drivers to be careful and use common sense. “The focus is on making everybody do what they’re supposed to do,” he said.

That means not being distracted by cell phones or other devices, watching out for other cars, pedestrians and bicyclists, and not driving impaired, Strader said.

“The public just needs to use common sense,” he said. “I’m talking about pedestrians and drivers.”