HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Eleven people have been hit and killed by drivers while walking in Henrico County so far in 2024, according to county officials. That tragic number marked the most pedestrian deaths the county had ever seen in a single year as 11 people were also killed for the entire year of 2021.
With the days getting shorter and Daylight Saving approaching, Henrico officials once again urged drivers and pedestrians to take caution on the roads.
Henrico mother Ashley Fisher spoke at a road safety event on Tuesday.
Fisher's 15-year-old son Nathaniel Clark was hit and killed crossing Staples Mill Road, near Hungary Springs Road, while walking home from work last month.
Clark, she said, loved to walk.
"If it wasn't walking his dog, it was walking to school," she said.
Fisher said she could hear her son's voice in her head as she now worked to help make the streets safer.
"He would say, 'Mom, get up, do something.' So that's him pushing all of this," Fisher said.
What Can Police Do?
Henrico Police Executive Chief Ken Burnett said the most common theme with the fatal crashes has been pedestrians wearing dark clothing at night. He encouraged walkers to wear something brighter and cross at marked crosswalks.
He also called on drivers to stay aware of their surroundings and not get distracted.
"We've definitely increased our patrols in the areas that we can see where there might be more vehicular or pedestrian traffic," Burnett said. "One of the worst calls that we want to have to make is go to somebody's doorstep or go to a family and tell them that their loved one has passed away due to a crash."
What Can Public Works Do?
The Henrico Department of Public Works said there were 57 active projects underway to improve pedestrian infrastructure around the county.
"Each loss is a tragedy, and it underscores the urgency to of our efforts to create safer safer streets for everyone. We have a significant task ahead of us to retrofit our county into a place that is truly safe for pedestrians and cyclists," said Henrico Director of Public Works Terrell Hughes. "The numbers speak for themselves. Of the over 1,400 miles of roads in our county road system, we currently only have 276 miles of sidewalk, 45 miles of paved trails, and 33 miles of bike lanes."
Hughes said the county has lowered speed limits on some roads and the Henrico County Board of Supervisors recently approved a million-and-a-half dollars to improve street lighting.
He added the county was also in early talks with the state to take control of the 500-600 miles of state roads that run through Henrico. Those include U.S. Highways like Broad Street (U.S. Route 250) and Williamsburg Road (U.S. Route 60) and Virginia primary routes like Patterson Avenue ((Virginia Route 6) and New Market Road (Virginia Route 5).
He said that could allow for projects to be done faster.
"Most of the pedestrian crashes, the serious ones, the fatalities, they're mostly on state-maintained roadways," Hughes said. "Those roads have higher traffic, higher speeds... so the impacts of not having that pedestrian infrastructure are felt even more."
Henrico Police said of the 11 deadly crashes, three happened within a 2.5-mile stretch of Staples Mill Road.
Below are the details on the 11 crashes in 2024:
- Jan. 29, 2024 Staples Mill Road and Bremner Boulevard: Andre Antonio Messado, 27.
- Feb. 13, 2024 9800 block of Brook Road: Diamond Naketa Downs, 22.
- March 16, 2024 5200 block of Brook Road: Lolita Brumfield, 52.
- May 26, 2024 near Brook Road and Magellan Parkway: Sterling Marie Wilson, 27.
- June 9, 2024 I-95 Ramp near exit 84A: Matthew Aaron Vilanova, 35.
- July 9, 2024 5700 block of Nine Mile Road: Howquana Kara Bugg, 25.
- July 17, 2024 intersection of Cedar Fork Road and Tiffanywoods Lane: Tyrone Calvin Jeffries, 22.
- Aug. 29, 2024 Staples Mill Road near Townhouse Road: Two-year-old child.
- Sept. 8, 2024 Staples Mill Road near Hungary Spring Rd: Nathaniel Clark, 15.
- Sept. 18, 2024 11400 Block of W. Broad St: June Eades Heesen, 63.
- Oct. 3, 2024 5200 Block of Brook Road: Brenda Robinson, 57.
"It does make me feel better knowing that there's something that's going to happen," Fisher said. "It's a little bit of closure knowing that some type of change is being implemented so people can be safe when they're walking."
Henrico County also has bright, reflective vests available for pedestrians to pick up through its Watch Out Ahead Henrico (WOAH) program at police stations, government centers, libraries, and recreation centers.
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