Houston Advocacy Group Concerned Over Rising Number of Pedestrian Fatalities

A recent Houston Chronicle article reported that there has been a 22% rise in pedestrian traffic fatalities in Texas over the last five years. In 2023, 202 of the 1,700 traffic crashes involving pedestrians resulted in fatalities, according to TxDOT.

A local advocacy group believes that the troubling death of Desire Pool, 41, only illustrates the potentially fatal dangers pedestrians face in the Houston area.

Pool was killed in September when a Houston police vehicle driven by Officer Shelby Kennedy, struck her while standing in what appeared to be an unmarked crosswalk with her children.

Peter Eccles, director of policy and planning to LINK Houston – a nonprofit group advocating for a better transportation network – believes that speeding is a leading cause of pedestrian fatalities locally.

According to the Texas Transportation Code, pedestrians are given the right of way at crosswalks. Even if a pedestrian is not at a crosswalk, drivers are to exercise caution when operating a vehicle to avoid colliding with pedestrians, which can include sounding your horn in warning when necessary.

Dashcam footage of Officer Kennedy’s vehicle was released earlier this month. The footage shows that the silhouette of Pool first became visible roughly six seconds before impact. It wasn’t until one second before impact that you could hear the officer in the passenger seat begin shouting a warning to Officer Kennedy. Unfortunately, this warning was too late. Pool was fatally struck by the police vehicle.

Internal affairs detectives have not yet released any details about their internal investigation into the incident, including information on whether Officer Kennedy had been speeding at the time of the fatal incident.

If you have been in an accident, it is important that you contact an experienced attorney who can help gather the necessary evidence to support your claim. For a free consultation, please contact a Houston personal injury lawyer at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-222-7211 or 1-800-870-9584.