Merced County pedestrian death rate outpaces national increase, study says

Pedestrian deaths in the United States climbed sharply during the first six months of last year, according to a new traffic study – and Merced County reported an even more dramatic spike.

The report from the Governors Highway Safety Association studied the first six months of 2015, the most recent data available, and attributed the increase to a number of factors, including cellphone use by drivers and pedestrians, additional vehicles on the road and more people walking for health, economic or environmental purposes.

The report estimated such deaths increased by about 10 percent compared with the year prior.

Earlier this year, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office reported investigating three times the number of crashes involving pedestrian deaths in 2015 than during the previous year. The Sheriff’s Office investigated nine crashes involving pedestrian deaths in 2015; three in 2014.

The analysis named four large states, including California, that accounted for more than 40 percent of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2015. Florida, Texas and New York were the other states included in that number.

California reported 347 pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2015, the highest of all the states, the report says. That was a 7 percent increase from 2014.

In early 2016, at least three pedestrian deaths have been reported in Merced County.

On Jan. 15, police reported a pedestrian was hit by a car on 16th Street. Surveillance footage captured the driver dragging the victim from the roadway to the side of the road before fleeing. The victim, German Sosa, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene.

After receiving a tip from Crime Stoppers in late February, Merced police found a vehicle with damage consistent with the crash. Mario Hernandez, 27, was arrested for the crime after he confessed, police said. Hernandez said he fled the scene because he was scared and had been drinking alcohol, according to investigators with the Merced Police Department.

Hernandez posted a $20,000 bond after being booked into the jail on suspicion of vehicle manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.

The night following the fatal 16th Street crash, a woman who was believed to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol was hit and killed on Highway 59 near Bear Creek while she was walking in the roadway. In that incident, the driver came around a bend in the road and couldn’t avoid hitting the woman. The driver stayed at the scene and called police.

The report notes that in 2013 – the most recent data available – alcohol involvement by the driver and-or pedestrian was reported in about half of traffic crashes that resulted in pedestrian fatalities.

Last week, a Merced County sheriff’s deputy struck and killed a pedestrian on a rural road in Stevinson while it was raining. Pedro Rocha, 51, was wearing dark clothing and walking in the roadway at the time of the accident. He died at the scene after officers and paramedics performed CPR. The deputy, Vincent LaMattina, was put on paid administrative leave, a routine practice, while the incident is being investigated.

Late-night hours pose an especially high risk for those traveling on foot, the study says. About half of the pedestrian fatalities nationwide in 2014 happened between 6 p.m. and midnight, with 72 percent occurring after dark, according to the report.

Local law enforcement agencies encourage pedestrians to use crosswalks and sidewalks, and avoid wearing dark clothing at night if walking.

Sgt. Delray Shelton, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said pedestrian deaths are avoidable when both drivers and pedestrians are careful.

“As much as we caution drivers, we caution pedestrians,” Shelton said after the January incidents. “When we have both parties watching out, it helps ensure safety.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Merced County pedestrian death rate outpaces national increase, study says."