SALT LAKE CITY — The numbers are alarming.
According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, 11 people under the age of 20 have been seriously injured or killed by vehicles in the first four months of 2025. They said that twenty percent of pedestrian-related crashes involve people under age 20.
Over the past few weeks, FOX 13 News has reported on young children — an 11-year-old in Roy and a 9-year-old in Pleasant Grove — getting hit by cars while in crosswalks. DPS said people under 20 make up the largest age group of people hit by cars.
“Anyone that loses a loved one, it’s life-changing,” said Kristen Hoschouer, a Safe Routes program manager at the Utah Department of Transportation.
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Safe Routes Utah provides safe routes and other resources to schools and families so that children can go to school and get home safely.
“One thing we tell people is to make sure you make eye contact with people who are in an intersection,” Hoschouer said. “Just make sure that the person sees that you’re stopping.”
Lt. Cameron Roden shared that some contributing factors for drivers are failure to yield the right of way and disregarding traffic signals. Officials have also found that in 46 percent of these cases, pedestrians were entering or using the crosswalk, just like they're supposed to.
“They’re the vulnerable person, unfortunately, that is the case and that a lot of the times they have the right of way,” Hoschouer explained.
Roden said that a total of 11 people hit so far this year is about the same as this point in 2024.
“Just note the area around where you live and where there might be some busy streets where you’ll want to avoid,” Hoschouer said.
“Every life matters.”
DRIVEN TO CHANGE
