ORANGE PARK, Fla. – A pedestrian was fatally struck by a car on Friday evening in the Orange Park area, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Shortly after 10:05 p.m., according to FHP, a Volkswagen sedan was traveling south on Blanding Boulevard in the outside lane as a 33-year-old Orange Park woman was walking west within the pedestrian crosswalk across the southbound lanes of Blanding Boulevard at Parkwood Drive. Troopers said the car had a green traffic light when the pedestrian stepped into its path and was struck by the sedan.
She was taken to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, where she died, troopers said.
Several pedestrian crashes have happened on Blanding Boulevard including a fatal hit and run between Morse Avenue and Townsend Road back in June.
A Smart Growth America study reported that Jacksonville is the sixth deadliest city for pedestrian deaths. Daytona Beach was number one.
The study said that from 2016 to 2020 Florida was the second most deadliest state in the nation for pedestrian accidents. It also reported that older adults and people walking in low-income neighborhoods were struck and killed at a much higher rate than other populations in 2020.
According to FHP, the driver of the car — a 32-year-old Orange Park woman — and the three passengers — a 5-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old boy, all of whom are from Orange Park — were not injured.
There have been 300 pedestrian crashes so far this year in Duval County, according to FHP. Twenty-seven of those crashes were fatalities and 261 people were injured.
Forty-four people have been injured from pedestrian crashes in the state of Florida.