The Toll Climbs: Another Pedestrian Struck In Kalamazoo

Another pedestrian has been struck in downtown Kalamazoo. Jesse Wilcox, 32 of Ann Arbor, was crossing the street in the 200 block of West Michigan Avenue, Thursday, when he was struck by an eastbound vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital in serious condition.

Kalamazoo has experienced a rise in pedestrian accidents since implementing their current ordinance requiring vehicles to stop when pedestrians are in a crosswalk. A 32 year-old man was hospitalized with life threatening injuries a week ago in the same stretch of road. On Saturday, a 14 year-old girl was struck near West Main Street and Maple Hill Drive. She also was critically injured.

Kalamazoo Police were policing crosswalks, throughout the week, in order to raise driver’s awareness. The ordinance states that drivers must stop for people attempting to use crosswalks. It also says pedestrians must stop before entering the road, and that pedestrians cannot start crossing if it makes it too difficult for drivers to stop in time.

In the meantime, the toll of pedestrian accidents climbs as authorities struggle to address the situation.

The current incident remains under investigation.