Press Release

On February 27, 2008, a sixteen-year-old girl was hit while crossing the street in a crosswalk near the area of 1700 North Morton Drive. The driver fled the scene and to date has not been located. The victim is still recovering from her injuries. 

The afternoon of Friday, March 7 resulted in another serious incident. Two women were crossing the street in a crosswalk at 250 East 200 South. As they were crossing the westbound lanes of traffic, they were both struck by a westbound vehicle that failed to yield to them. Both victims sustained injuries; one of the victims was transported to a local hospital with critical head trauma. 

Unfortunately, we regularly hear of collisions involving motor vehicles and pedestrians. The end result of many of these accidents is serious injuries, if not death to the pedestrians involved. 

Salt Lake City has for many years tried to make our community safer for pedestrians. 

The Salt Lake City Police Department’s Motor Squad has undertaken the task of trying to promote a safe environment for pedestrians. During the first two weeks of March 2008, they conducted an undercover enforcement operation in which drivers of vehicles that failed to yield to pedestrians were issued citations. 

Areas of enforcement are spread throughout the city. During this two-week period, a total of 123 citations were issued. Our goal is to enhance driver’s awareness of the importance of slowing down near crosswalks and recognizing the potential for pedestrian activity in these areas. 

As the weather begins to get warmer and there are more pedestrians walking throughout our city, we hope their safety will be increased due to the efforts of our officers.