June 30, 2009

The first half of 2009 has been a dangerous one across the city streets. Corpus Christi Police are reporting that we are well on our way to surpassing last year's traffic fatality numbers.

There have been 14 Corpus Christi traffic fatalities in this the first half of 2009. The number of pedestrian accidents are way up. Six people have died after being hit by a vehicle. Police say three of those victims were away from a crosswalk or intersection.

We set up our camera outside city hall at Staples and Leopard. It didn't take long for our camera to catch folks jay walking. If they were to be hit be a vehicle, it would be the driver's fault. In fact, depending on the circumstances the driver would likely not even receive a ticket. However, other than the number of pedestrians killed on our city streets, police tell us none of the 14 traffic fatalities have any commonality

But, they say driver inattention and alcohol typically play the biggest part in fatal accidents. They also tell us so many accident deaths could be prevented if the victims had buckled up.