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Pedestrian death was not isolated event

Lisa Pascopella, PhD, MPH
Friday May 24, 2002

To the Editor: 

I appreciated the story by Kurtis Alexander in the Tuesday May 21 Daily Planet regarding the actions of a neighborhood group in response to the death of a pedestrian in Berkeley. However, I wanted to point out an important error-Kurtis Alexander's story wrongly states "Bennett's death represents the first pedestrian fatality in Berkeley in nearly a decade..." 

At least one other pedestrian, Jayne Ash, was killed in Berkeley while crossing a street within the past ten years. Ms. Ash was crossing Shattuck Ave. at Hearst St. when she was struck by a cement pumping truck in March, 2001.  

I believe there was yet another pedestrian death on Shattuck Ave. at Virginia St. a few years earlier. And, this is not a comprehensive list! 

The City of Berkeley commissioned a report a few years ago that cites statistics- Berkeley has the highest rate of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries compared to similar-sized cities in CA!  

 

Lisa Pascopella, PhD, MPH 

Berkeley