About 8:11 p.m. on Tuesday, August 16, 2016, a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser sport utility vehicle (SUV) driven by a 73-year-old male was southbound on Maple Avenue in Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut. At the intersection of Maple Avenue and Cambridge Court West, an 89-year-old male pedestrian walked from the west side of Maple Avenue to the soft dirt shoulder on the east side, according to a witness, then turned around and crossed the northbound lane of Maple Avenue. He walked about 2 feet into the southbound lane, where he was struck by the left front fender of the SUV.
The pedestrian came to rest in the northbound lane of Maple Avenue. The SUV came to final rest south of the intersection. The pedestrian was transported to Middlesex Hospital–Shoreline Medical Center in Westbrook, Connecticut, where he was pronounced dead.
At the time of the collision, it was twilight (the sun had set at 7:47 p.m.), and the moon, which rose at 6:35 p.m., was 96 percent illuminated. The temperature was 78.8°F, winds were from the south at 11.5 mph, and the sky was overcast.
We determined that the probable cause of the crash in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, was the decision of the pedestrian to walk across the multilane roadway in front of the oncoming vehicle. Contributing to the cause of the crash were the driver’s poor vision and the low-light conditions.
