A fatal pedestrian crash was reported in Greensville County Monday morning at nearly the same time as Virginia State Police was issuing a public advisory about the mounting number of pedestrian crashes in the Commonwealth.
Greensville crash
In Greensville, the incident was a hit and run that occurred on Pleasant Shade Road (Route 58).
According to VSP Sergeant Michelle Anaya, a man was walking westbound on Pleasant Shade Rd. when an unknown vehicle hit him. The man was west of Emporia and VSP believes the incident occurred between 4 and 5:30 a.m.
The pedestrian’s identity has not been released.
VSP is asking anyone with possible information, who may have witnessed or seen the pedestrian and/or the responsible vehicle around that timeframe to contact troopers at #(434) 634-4454 OR #77 or via email at questions@vsp.virginia.gov
2-week surge
That incident is a tragic situation that’s becoming too common in Virginia. On Monday, VSP reported that, over the past two weeks, 10 people have been killed in pedestrian crashes, not including the Greensville crash reported above.
Since Feb. 11, there have been two pedestrian fatalities in Prince William and one in Henrico, Chesterfield, Albemarle, Fairfax, Pittsylvania, Loudoun, Wythe, and the City of Virginia Beach.
VSP says preliminary data show that those 10 incidents boosted the number of fatalities so far this year to 19. And again, that doesn’t include the fatality near Emporia.
Preliminary data shows that, for 2023, there was a total of 118 fatal pedestrian crashes, which averages out to almost 10 per month.
In the advisory, VSP said they are stressing pedestrian safety following this “alarming uptick.” Both pedestrians and drivers have a role to play in addressing this issue, the department said.
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