On Thursday, August 18, 2016, about 2:20 a.m., a 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 coupe was traveling south on 9th Street NW in Washington, DC. As the 31-year-old driver approached the intersection of 9th and P streets, the traffic signal for southbound vehicular traffic was green. A 44-year-old male, walking with a female companion, attempted to cross 9th Street from the southeast corner of the intersection. Neither pedestrian was in the crosswalk.
The driver reported that she saw the pedestrians in the roadway and attempted to steer left to avoid them. The car struck the male pedestrian at the right-side bumper area, causing him to ride up onto the hood and propelling him into the windshield on the passenger side. The pedestrian rolled off the right side of the car and came to rest in the roadway. He was transported to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where he died of his injuries. The female pedestrian was not injured.
It was dark at the time of the crash, and the sky was overcast. The temperature at the time was 75°F, and the wind was from the west-southwest at 3 mph.
We determined that the probable cause of the crash in Washington, DC, was the pedestrian’s decision to cross the street outside the crosswalk and against the traffic signal. Contributing to his poor decision-making was alcohol impairment. Further contributing to the crash was the driver’s impairment from alcohol, which most likely diminished her ability to detect and avoid the pedestrian.
