Over the past three days, there have been three Pedestrian Accidents in Athens-Clarke County. Two pedestrians died and one is in a local hospital in serious condition.

In the first incident on September 7th at approximately 11:39 pm, Willie Sims (52, Athens) was walking westbound on the southern side of Lexington Road when he was struck by a 1997 Nissan pickup. Mr. Sims was in the roadway, was struck by 1997 Nissan pickup, and suffered a fatal injury.

Another incident occurred on September 9th at 265 Newton Bridge Road at approximately 6:40 am. Filimon Ghebremehari (Dallas, TX, 34) was driving a tractor trailer making a delivery to Terrrapin Brewery. According to witnesses, Mr. Ghebremehari was in the brewery parking lot, attempting to back his truck onto Newton Bridge Road, and was having difficulty. He exited his cab and crossed over to the east side of Newton Bridge Rd. After surveying the scene, he was crossing towards his cab on the west side of the road when he ran in front of a southbound vehicle, a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. Ghebremehari was struck and suffered a fatal injury.

The latest incident occurred on September 9th at 11:22 pm on College Station Road near Research Drive. Mary Whiteman (26, Athens) was improperly crossing the roadway, from north to south, and not in a crosswalk. Whiteman was stuck by a 2009 Nissan Altima traveling east in the left lane on College Station Road. Whiteman was seriously injured and transported to a local hospital.

Due to the serious nature of these incidents, the ACCPD reminds pedestrians to use caution when crossing roadways:

- Use crosswalks when crossing a roadway

- Walk on sidewalks whenever they are available

- If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic and as far from traffic as possible

- When crossing, never assume a driver sees you; make eye contact with drivers as they approach a crosswalk or intersection.

2019-09070371 / 2019-09090024 / 2019-09090236