A pedestrian crossing Forest Grove Drive Thursday night was lucky to walk away unscathed after being hit by a car at Ash Grove Crescent.
Emergency personnel were called to the scene around 5:45 p.m. when a vehicle travelling westbound on Forest Grove Drive hit a pedestrian walking in a marked crossing, according to Burnaby RCMP.
“(The vehicle) approached a crosswalk and struck a pedestrian,” Staff Sgt. Maj. John Buis told the NOW. “They were about halfway across the street. The collision is described as low-impact with contact made with the driver-side front bumper.”
The pedestrian suffered no visible injuries in the accident but was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital as a precaution.
Alcohol and speed are not believed to be causes of the accident and investigators reported the driver was likely driving slowly when he hit the pedestrian, Buis said.
Poor or low visibility, slick roads and miserable weather conditions were all factors in Thursday night’s crash as well as in several other pedestrian-involved collisions in Burnaby within the past week, Buis said.
“People have to understand that while you’re in the crosswalk they have to look after their own safety as well to make sure the cars have seen them, one, and are able to stop, two,” Buis said.
In poor weather the roads get slippery making it even more difficult for drivers to stop if pedestrians simply step out on to the street without looking first, Buis added.
Burnaby RCMP is reminding pedestrians to make sure they’ve been seen before crossing any street, even in a crosswalk, and to always make eye contact with drivers.
The driver in Thursday’s crash was issued a ticket for failing to yield at the crosswalk.
