Walking advocates push for safer streets after cars kill two men hours apart in Nashville
“Your busiest streets with the most fatalities are going to be your state routes or state highways,” said Ned Dannenberg, with Bike Walk Franklin.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Two men are dead after they tried to cross a busy Nashville road and were hit by a car. The two separate incidents happened on Lebanon Pike and Murfreesboro Pike.
It doesn’t matter what time, it doesn’t matter how fast, people will try and cut across some of Nashville’s most dangerous roads.
That’s what happened on Lebanon Pike Sunday night when Metro Nashville Police said a 17-year-old driver hit and killed a 66-year-old man. It was the same story 12 hours later on Murfreesboro Pike where a 52-year-old man was the victim.
“He was going fast, he was going pretty fast,” said Theodore Brown who watched it all unfold. “The thing about it is we had just crossed the street ourselves before he got hit.”
He said he sees people fly down the road all the time and something needs to be done about it.
“Your busiest streets with the most fatalities are going to be your state routes or state highways,” said Ned Dannenberg, with Bike Walk Franklin.
He said pikes with five or six lanes are dangerous. There are limited intersections and stoplights right where many bus stops are. That’s what he is pushing for more of.
“It puts pedestrians in a lot of danger,” said Dannenberg. “Because if you don’t have a car, maybe you aren’t able to drive, you really have to take a gamble every time you leave your house.”
For now, Brown is left hoping what he saw doesn’t happen to someone else.
“I wonder about his family. Does he have any family?” he asks. “This isn’t the first time somebody got hit down here and it won’t be the last until they do something about it.”
Metro Police said the 17-year-old driver on Lebanon Pike was issued a citation for not providing proof of insurance. The driver on Murfreesboro Pike showed no signs on intoxication. Both incidents are under investigation.
WSMV4 reached out to Walk Bike Nashville who provided the following statement:
“It is tragic that lives continue to be lost on Nashville’s roads. These are preventable fatalities, and we know what improvements need to be made – more sidewalks, better lighting, frequent and safe crosswalks, plus slower speeds. Our local and state transportation departments also know that this is what it will take and it’s time for them to respond more urgently to this deadly issue.”
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