Kerri Provost of RealHartford.org and Michael Walsh of CT Insider shared some devastating truths on Dec 22nd, based on news reports and UConn Crash Repository data. Note that these figures include only crashes that resulted in a 911 call and a police report, and may not include other incidents that were not reported.
- Motorists have killed 70 pedestrians and cyclists across Connecticut, so far, in 2022.
- Drivers in West Hartford have crashed into 15 pedestrians and 7 cyclists, a total of 22.
- Most of these 22 crashes occurred on Main Street, New Britain Avenue, New Park Avenue, and Quaker Lane.
- Of those West Hartford crashes, drivers have killed 3 pedestrians so far this year.
- All 3 pedestrians killed by motorists were age 60 or over.
- Bob O’Neal (age 61) was killed by a driver on June 3rd while standing on the sidewalk at South Main and Farmington Ave.
- Eugenia Yurovsky (age 89) was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Dec 20th while crossing Boulevard at Whiting Lane.
- Carlos Garlaza (age 60), a roofing contractor, was struck by a driver on Dec 21st while helping a resident exit their driveway at Mohegan Drive and Carlyle Road, and died on Dec 21st.
- Several other surviving pedestrians and cyclists were seriously injured. For example, the woman who was hit by a driver in front of the library on South Main Street on Dec 17th has two broken legs, four broken vertebrae, and months of recovery ahead of her.
West Hartford: We need to face up to these troubling facts, and work together to develop a data-driven action plan with specific goals and milestones to achieve zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
