Fatal accident causes concern for pedestrian awareness and safety

By Spencer Burt

A pedestrian was hit by a car and killed in Logan on Friday night, and police are concerned with the frequency of pedestrian accidents due to negligence.

Otto Kalman, an 84-year-old man, was crossing 100 East at about 450 North when an 18-year-old woman struck him with her car while driving southbound. He was taken to Logan Regional Hospital and was pronounced dead.

Capt. Tyson Budge said the driver will most likely not face any charges. "It was just dark and rainy, and she didn't see him till it was too late," Budge said. 
Incidents like this can be very traumatic for the drivers, so she was not informed of the outcome until some time after the accident when she had family or friends around to provide support.

"There's been way too many pedestrians getting hit lately, and it's usually because they're crossing in the wrong spot," he said. "Don't ever assume that a car sees you." 

Budge said the department would like to better educate pedestrians on the importance of using crosswalks, but they don't have a solid plan to do that yet.

They do perform regular "enforcement" projects to educate drivers on yielding to pedestrians. Officers in civilian clothes will cross a street using a crosswalk, and if the approaching car doesn't stop at a safe distance, then surrounding officers will pull the individual over. In these instances, the officers will talk to them to educate them, but not cite them.

Todd Royce of the Utah Highway Patrol said the Utah Highway Safety Office is working along with the Utah Department of Transportation on some pedestrian safety initiatives, but no details have been released yet.