Deadly crash involving MTA bus highlights pedestrian safety concerns in downtown Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- Two days after a video showed a deadly accident involving a man riding a scooter and an MTA bus, WJZ takes a look at pedestrian safety in downtown.

Related: Surveillance footage shows what led to deadly crash involving MTA bus near Inner Harbor

Pratt Street is one of the busiest thoroughfares through downtown Baltimore. It's also a place where people walk to take in the many sights of the Inner Harbor and restaurants, while bicyclists and scooters also navigate the busy street.

Exclusive video obtained by WJZ shows the moment when 31-year-old Marquise Fortune was traveling down Pratt Street as the light turned green for an MTA bus.

The force of the bus knocked him forward in a running motion down Light Street, before the light pole, which was hit by the swerving MTA bus, fell in the direction of Fortune.  He was killed by the falling light pole.

"We did see it happen; the bus veered off, knocked down the pole, then we saw a scooter, so we assumed the bus was trying to avoid the scooter," said Brian Delude, who witnessed the deadly incident. "It was so surreal; it was like something you would see in a movie, that I don't think it registered as anything."

It's a surreal existence for a busy downtown Baltimore - where cars, bicycles, scooters, and pedestrians try to coexist.

A report by the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that between 2016 and 2018, 65 percent of deadly utility and light pole crashes occurred in urban areas like downtown Baltimore.

This report also suggests ways to minimize the severity of these types of crashes, such as adding barriers or crash cushions to light poles, installing light poles that break away on impact, or using ones that collapse on impact instead of breaking away to improve safety.