ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Authorities say street racers in southwest Albuquerque have killed a pedestrian and crashed a vehicle into an apartment building.
Police say it appears a woman was crossing a street Saturday night when she was fatally struck by one of the vehicles racing down a street.
APD says it's the worst crash scene they have seen. A woman was crossing Louisana north of Gibson before she was…
由 KOB 4 发布于 2019年3月23日周六
They say one of the vehicles then crashed into an apartment building.
Police say three of the four people in the car that crashed were taken to a hospital where they were listed in critical condition.
They say the driver is in police custody and the other car involved in the race didn’t stop.
The names of the dead woman, the three injured people and the arrested driver haven’t been released yet by police.
Traffic Deaths
Traffic deaths fell 3.1 percent in the first six months of 2018, according to preliminary figures released in October 2018, Reuters reported.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that 2017 traffic deaths fell by 1.8 percent to 37,133 after traffic deaths rose sharply in the previous two years, according to final figures. The traffic fatality rate fell to 1.08 deaths per 100 million miles traveled for the first half of 2018.
The fatality rate in 2017 was 1.16 million deaths per 100 million miles traveled—the second highest rate since 2008. “This is good news and bad news,” said Deborah Hersman, CEO of the National Safety Council, told CNBC. “The total number of fatalities is not getting worse, but the situation is not getting better.”
Hersman cited distracted driving and higher speed limits for the number. “There are a number of states that have raised speed limits, some now have stretches at 80 or 85 miles per hour,” she said.
In Texas, for example, she estimated that traffic fatalities jumped 7 percent from 2015 to 2017, in part due to higher speed limits in the state.
“We know it’s happening even though distracted driving data is hard to come by,” she said of drivers using smartphones while behind the wheel.
“Police reports on accidents often don’t report if the driver was distracted and in many accidents, people don’t self-report themselves.”
Fatal Car Crash Statistics
The Department of Transportation said in October 2018 that there were 37,133 deaths from motor vehicle crashes in 2017, a decrease of almost 2 percent from 2016.
In comparison, there was an increase of about 6.5 percent from 2015 to 2016 and an increase of about 8 percent from 2014 to 2015. Pedestrian fatalities also declined by about 2 percent.
While deaths in both categories declined, officials said more can be done.
“Dangerous actions such as speeding, distracted driving, and driving under the influence are still putting many Americans, their families and those they share the road with at risk,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deputy Administrator Heidi King in a statement. “Additionally, we must address the emerging trend of drug-impaired driving to ensure we are reducing traffic fatalities and keeping our roadways safe for the traveling public.”
The deaths occurred over 34,247 motor vehicle crashes, resulting in 11.4 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.1 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. The highest fatality rate was in Mississippi, with 23.1 deaths per 100,000 people, and the highest death rate per 100 million miles was in South Carolina, with 1.8 deaths, according to an analysis of Department of Transportation data by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
A preliminary estimate of the first half of 2018 (pdf) showed that an estimated 17,120 people died in car crashes from January through June, which would be a decrease of about 3 percent from the previous year. The statistics indicate the fifth consecutive quarter in which traffic fatalities declined.
