(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)
December 31, 2013 - 9:44 AM
KAMLOOPS - It really hasn't been the best year for pedestrians in Kamloops. For a while, it seemed like there was an entire news beat necessary to stay on top of covering pedestrian collisions in the city. Even while compiling this piece, we were saddened to add another collision to the list — a tragic fatality earlier this month. It's been sad to report on all year and this most recent case was no exception.
On Dec. 12 an 86-year-old man was struck and killed while out walking his dog in Dallas. The man, who was hit from behind by a pickup truck, was identified as Kamloops man John Kopp and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kopp's death is part of an unfortunate list of these collisions in 2013. The New Year began with a man hit in the Costco parking lot suffering minor injuries Jan. 10, and the collisions have carried on regularly throughout the entire year.
A 13-year-old was hit by a bus in March, and a man broke his legs after hit at the same place another pedestrian was killed back in 2012. These are only a sample of the collisions.
The problem was acknowledged in May and the City of Kamloops, Kamloops RCMP, ICBC and Trauma Services at the Royal Inland Hospital partnered up to educate residents with a safety campaign dubbed 'Get Your Glow On.'
Police are also trying to help by cracking down on jaywalkers. InfoTel hung out with cops one morning while they targeted TRU students jaywalking on the Summit Connector and 24 people were fined. We compiled a list of pedestrian need-to-knows in the hopes you would think twice the next time you crossed the street.
In looking back at 2013, we couldn’t help but notice and report on the unfortunate trend. We've compiled a map of some of the pedestrian collisions from 2012 until now and are wishing Kamloops residents safe walking in 2014.
To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013