California Highway Patrol working to prevent pedestrian problems on freeways before they happen
SACRAMENTO – The California Highway Patrol said pedestrians walking on freeways is a problem, especially in major cities with large homeless populations like Sacramento.
"Where we have a higher call volume for pedestrians is where we have a higher population of homelessness," said CHP spokesperson Mike Carrillo.
A freeway was turned into a parking lot near Rocklin on Tuesday morning after a pedestrian who was trying to cross I-80 East was hit by multiple vehicles and killed.
The victim has not been identified and CHP is still investigating why the person was on the freeway to begin with.
"They don't recognize that they put themselves in that dangerous situation, so oftentimes we try to educate them and take them to a safe location off the freeway," Carrillo said. "A lot of times with these unhoused individuals there is a certain sort of mental disability at play."
That is why CHP is working to prevent the pedestrian problem on freeways before it happens. It is working with Caltrans to clear homeless camps sitting on state land near freeways.
"We give them a three-day notice as sort of courtesy, but they are not allowed to be there," Carrillo said.
Impact of deadly collisions on drivers
If someone does wander onto the freeway, it could have detrimental impacts on a driver who hits them.
"It is completely out of nowhere," said clinical and forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Judy Ho. "There's probably going to be a lot of blame, self-blame and guilt, they may see the images over and over."
Dr. Ho said that patients she's had who hit pedestrians while behind the wheel sometimes stop driving altogether. She advises people who experience this to seek professional help if needed.
"I think it's important to not isolate and talk to people you trust," Dr. Ho said.
Sometimes people have no choice but to walk on the freeway because they got in a car accident or their car broke down.
In these cases, Carrillo said to either make the call for help while staying in your car or only walk to the freeway call box.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Center for Statistics and Analysis, there has been a 5% increase in pedestrians killed by vehicles between the first quarter of 2023 to 2024.
CHP could not give the statistics by the time of this report for how many of these deadly vehicle versus pedestrian crashes have happened on freeways.
