Here is the Courier-Journal story.

Pedestrian fatalities on rise in Louisville

The number of pedestrian fatalities in Louisville this year is on pace to be one of the highest since merger in 2003 — despite a city campaign stressing road safety.

Through Wednesday, 15 pedestrians have been killed this year, compared to 10 in all of 2009. The numbers include bicyclists and people struck while standing outside broken-down vehicles along the road.

The highest number of pedestrian deaths since merger came in 2008, when there were 27 deaths — 24 pedestrians and three bicyclists.

Police and safety officials say they’ve not identified any single reason for the increased number of deaths this year over last.

The increased number of deaths by pedestrians continues in spite of a city wide program to help prevent them.

See the following story this summer from WLKY.com:  City Pushes For Safety After 3 Pedestrian Deaths, Mayor, Police Chief Share Personal Stories Of Safety Issues

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Three recent pedestrian deaths on Louisville streets are eye opening reality checks on what can happen when motorists, cyclists and pedestrians don’t follow the rules of the road.The city unveiled a new phase of an ongoing marketing campaign to reduce the deadly numbers on Friday. The city launched the Street Sense campaign last summer and the new phase unveiled Friday morning has new ads and new messages targeting unsafe behavior. City officials said the drivers are not always at fault.

For example, a Kentucky decision in the Court of Appeals – Spivey v. Sheeler, 514 S.W.2d 667 (Ky.,1974) – addressed the standard of responsibility when a pistol was left locked in a cabinet but the key was easily available on top of the cabinet. The results were tragic as a twelve-year-old boy sustained injuries when 11-year-old friend shot him with a .25 caliber pistol which the friend had obtained from his father’s locked gun case by using the key found on top of the case, and the boy’s parents brought an action against the friend’s parents. The Court of Appeals held that even though a parent is generally not responsible for the torts of his child, a parent may be liable for injuries which his minor child inflicts with a firearm, given to the child by the parent, or left accessible to the child.

Although the Kentucky decision has no applicability in Indiana, it is the law in Kentucky and illustrates the danger that needs to be prevented to protected our children.

Here is the Courier-Journal story:

“5-year-old girl shot in head in Jeffersonville

A 5-year-old girl was shot in the head in Jeffersonville Friday night in what police said appears to be an accident involving children playing with a gun.

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There were adults home at the time but they were outside on the porch, Hollis said. He said the adults heard a gunshot, then a child crying and ran inside, where they found the girl bleeding from her head.

She was conscious and alert when she was taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital, Hollis said. Doctors were planning surgery Friday night.

It is not clear who owned the gun but it had been in the home prior to the incident, Hollis said.

No foul play is suspected, but it hasn’t been determined whether any charges will be filed against anyone involved, he said.

As one reader commented – “The reason that it is “not an accident” is not due to the weapon being fired willfully at another child (who didn’t understand the dangers), but it is not an accident because the weapon was deliberately left unsecured by adults who are supposed to be responsible with it.”  Although “deliberately” may be an overstatement based upon the report, the weapon appears to have been left unsecured.

According to the Courier-Journal story, 39 year-old Tina Christie of Fort Knox was struck and killed Monday night after she pulled her van off the highway and got out of her van.  Although it is reported that the other driver did not see her and that no charges are expected to be filed, the family should still take the police report to the Fort Knox Legal Assistance Office for a JAG review to discuss their options or contact a personal injury attorney.   Just because there are no criminal charges does not mean there is no civil liability since Kentucky has comparative negligence.   If for no other reason, a legal review of options should assist survivors in reaching some form of closure and answer lingering questions.

Here is the Courier Journal story:

A woman who was killed Monday night after being struck by a van in the 12000 block of Dixie Highway in southwest Jefferson County has been identified as 39-year-old Tina R. Christie of Fort Knox.

Christie was struck after she pulled her southbound van off the road and then exited the vehicle for an unknown reason.

The driver of another southbound van apparently did not see her and struck her, said Dwight Mitchell, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman.

Christie was pronounced dead at the scene about 10:40 p.m. and died from multiple blunt force injuries, said Sam Weakley, a Jefferson County deputy coroner.

Weakley said Christie and her husband had just relocated to Fort Knox from Greenville, S.C.

There were three children inside Christie’s van and no charges are expected to be filed against the driver of the other van, police said.