UPDATED: Pedestrian Fatally Hit By Vehicles May Have Been Crawling Across Power Inn Road
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - There was yet another fatal accident Thursday, which marks the fifth time in less than a month a pedestrian has been killed in Sacramento.
California Highway Patrol officers responded to a grizzly scene around 5 a.m. along Power Inn Road and Scottsdale Drive, where a man had been hit by at least two vehicles.
Investigators say the pedestrian, a man in his 50s, may have been crawling across the road when he was hit by a car.
The 30-year-old female driver, who was the first to hit the victim, told police the man was lying down in the crosswalk and she didn't see him until it was too late.
A driver of a brown or red pickup then came through the busy intersection, hitting the victim again. This time it sent him about 75 feet past the initial accident scene.
"Witnesses believe he was lying down in the crosswalk. We're not sure of a reason why yet. We don't have an identification. When we do, it might help us figure out what was going on, his state of mind; but at this point, we don't know," said CHP Officer Chris Matthews.
Officers questioned and released the first driver without charges, but still want to speak with the driver of the pickup, who took off shortly after stopping at the accident.
The identity of the pedestrian has not been released. Matthews says the victim was in the crosswalk when he was struck.
CHP reports this is the fifth fatal pedestrian-involved crash in Sacramento County in less than a month.
The first happened just three weeks ago after an 82-year-old man was killed as he walked along a street in Carmichael. Police say he was wearing a hospital ID bracelet. He had wandered away from a senior facility.
The driver in this accident has not yet been charged.
The following day, a car struck a man in his 30s as he crossed near the Royal Oaks light rail station off Capital City Freeway. It happened around 5 a.m., and the driver told police he couldn't see the man in the dark.
On Oct. 21, an elderly woman was killed walking along Eastern Avenue in the Arden-Arcade area. No charges were filed against the driver.
On Monday, police found the body of a 48-year-old woman lying near the intersection of Brookfield and Winding Wind Ways. Police say she was struck and killed while standing in the middle of the street.
Officers say, with less daylight hours during this time of year, these types of accidents happen all too often. They expect things to worsen with the time change daylight saving because drivers and pedestrians have a hard time adjusting to the longer, darker hours.
