Vigilante crosswalk crops up continually in neighborhood

​One might call Aleasha Billing your typical teen. In 2011, she was walking to a friend’s house the night after Thanksgiving. She was crossing Lone Mountain Road near El Capitan Way when a vehicle struck her.

Billing was in intensive care for six months, followed by about six months in a 24-hour rehabilitation facility. After her latest surgery, Billing experienced brain bleeding. She died Jan. 31, 2014.

Donna Alford tends the roadside memorial for the teen set up along Lone Mountain Road.

“I see the parents going through what they’re going though,” Alford said.

The news seems to be filled with incidents of pedestrians crossing the road and being hit by vehicles. Many are outside crosswalks.

In Clark County, school-aged children 6-17 made up 20 percent of pedestrian crashes in 2013.

Near Goolsby Elementary School, 11175 W. Desert Inn Road, someone keeps painting a makeshift crosswalk. Each time a Clark County maintenance crew covers it, the faux crosswalk is repainted, something that’s been happening for more than a year.

Dan Kulin, county public information officer, said painting an unauthorized crosswalk creates a dangerous situation that is likely to result in someone’s death. Area residents speculate it’s being done by someone whose children attend the adjacent school.

“I don’t know if it has as much to do with the school as it does that bike path that goes across the road right there, but we need a crosswalk there,” said a parent of two who asked to remain anonymous. “We also need crossing guards because we don’t have any, and parents kind of have to park on the street (to drop off or pick up their children).”

The Metropolitan Police Department reports that there were 16 pedestrian deaths between Jan. 1 and May 12, the latest statistics available. That’s six fatalities higher than last year. Also during that time, there were 281 pedestrian-involved accidents. Last year, at the same point, there were 218.

“A large amount of them are pedestrian errors,” said Larry Hadfield, public information officer for Metro. “It’s one of those things where we all have to share the road, pedestrian and drivers alike. Pedestrians, although it may seem inconvenient, need to walk to a controlled intersection or crosswalk and be patient, crossing it safely. Drivers have to … give them the right of way, but it’s also up to the pedestrian not to blindly step into the street.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 4,000 pedestrians die from crash-related injuries each year in the United States. Las Vegas ranked 15th of 34 major U.S. cities for pedestrian deaths in 2012, the last year such statistics were available. The statistics showed that 2.51 walkers were killed per 100,000 residents.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 4,743 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2012, and another 76,000 pedestrians were injured that year.

The CDC found that pedestrians 65 or older accounted for 20 percent of all pedestrian deaths and an estimated 9 percent of all pedestrians injured in 2012. That year, more than one in every five children between ages 5 and 15 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians.

Alcohol use by the driver or the pedestrian was reported in 48 percent of the traffic crashes that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Where alcohol involvement was reported, 34 percent of pedestrians killed had a blood alcohol concentration of greater than or equal to .08 grams per deciliter, and 14 percent of drivers had a blood alcohol concentration of greater than or equal to .08 grams per deciliter.

Slamming on the brakes of a vehicle traveling at 45 mph in dry conditions means covering 196 feet before coming to a halt, according to Computer Support Group.

Pedestrians are advised to increase their visibility at night by carrying a flashlight and wearing retro-reflective clothing. If a sidewalk is not available, one should walk on the shoulder, facing traffic.

Hadfield suggested that pedestrians make eye contact with the drivers to ensure they’re paying attention. They, in turn, should also not be distracted by a mobile device such as a cellphone.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter who’s at fault; it’s still somebody losing a family member, a son, daughter, friend,” Hadfield said. “And that’s something all the parties have to live with.”

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.