Pedestrian hit on Cranberry Highway was in crosswalk, signal lights not flashing
The accident backed up traffic for about 20 minutes but the scene is clear. Photo by Bobby Grady
The accident backed up traffic for about 20 minutes but the scene is clear. Photo by Bobby Grady
The pedestrian struck while crossing Cranberry Highway was in the crosswalk, but the signal lights were not flashing, according to Wareham Police.
It was learned last week that the pedestrian was struck Saturday, Oct. 4 while running across the crosswalk in the northbound lane of Cranberry Highway, according to the police report. The vehicle was coming to an abrupt stop when it struck the pedestrian.
A witness and the driver of the vehicle who struck the pedestrian both said the signal lights for the crosswalk were not on, according to the police report.
The accident occurred around 11 a.m. near the Go Bananas outdoor sports store and an employee on Saturday said he heard a bang and a scream and saw a person on the ground in the road before calling 911.
According to Go Bananas Assistant Manager Renee Visconti, she has seen many people using that crosswalk without activating the signal lights.
“I don’t know what it is, half the people use it, half the people don’t,” Visconti said.
She added not only do many people not use the lights but when they do, drivers don’t seem to know what to do.
When the lights are activated, a red light flashes at drivers to let them know someone is in the crosswalk. Visconti said many drivers don’t wait for pedestrians to fully cross the road before driving past or if they do stop, cars behind them honk their horn.
“I don’t think it’s quite working out the way everyone thought it would but I don’t know how you get people to use the lights,” she said.
The pedestrian was transported to Tobey Hospital by Bourne Emergency Medical Services. As of Wednesday, Oct. 22, police have not released the identity and condition of the pedestrian.
The pedestrian crossing lights were a part of a nearly $20 million project aimed at improving safety for both drivers and pedestrians along Cranberry Highway.
In addition to the pedestrian crossing lights, a median, sidewalks and turnaround cutouts were added and the road was widened.
The project began in 2019 after seven years of delays and was done in response to state data at the time that showed a high volume of crashes each year. From 2011 to 2016, 10 pedestrians were hit and four died as a result of the crash.
