US-19 in Pasco County Named the Deadliest Road in America | Pasco County Injury Lawyers Whittel & Melton

US-19 is a stretch of straight, flat, and wide highway that sprawls through New Port Richey, Port Richey, Hudson, and Holiday in Pasco County. The highway features three lanes moving in each direction, with extra turn lanes on the right and left making totaling eight or nine lanes at the majority of intersections.

Along this stretch of road, you will find tattoo parlors, Dunkin Donuts, Walmart, Publix, medical equipment supplies stores, strip clubs, motels, auto body shops, chain restaurants, and even a mini-golf center where you can actually feed baby alligators.

When driving this highway, you may never be aware of the dangers, but if you are walking, then you definitely will. The speed limit is 45 to 55 miles per hour, but the cars drive much faster through these parts. There are very few crosswalks for pedestrians, leaving those on foot to trapse more than half a mile to get to a crosswalk so that they can safely cross a street to get to a business that is a few hundred feet away.

Using information from the government’s database of fatal car crashes, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, a team from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee identified that US-19 saw 137 pedestrian deaths between 2001 and 2016.

Data from the Florida Department of Transportation shows that pedestrian fatalities on US-19 have remained a problem past 2016 – 48 pedestrian deaths have occurred between 2017 and June 2022.

For every 100 miles on US-19, there have been at least 34 deaths since 2017, making it the deadliest road in the state of Florida.

Florida ranks No. 1 in the nation for pedestrian deaths. In 2020, 716 pedestrians were killed while traveling on foot in the Sunshine State. In 2021, the death toll for pedestrians reached 899.

Pedestrians fill the roads and sidewalks of Florida throughout the day and night, including the dangerous span of highway in Pasco County known as US-19. The sad truth us that too many motorists fail to pay attention to pedestrians or choose to ignore that they may have the right away, which can easily result in tragedy.

The numbers are staggering in Pasco County along US-19 and throughout the rest of the state. A pedestrian accident can result in the wrongful death of a loved one or a very serious and life-changing personal injury. Dealing with a death or medical issues is enough to deal with without piling on the headache of handling uncooperative insurance adjusters and/or a legal claim. Our Pasco County Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton are ready to help you explore your rights to file a claim for compensation after a pedestrian accident. We will conduct a thorough investigation in order to determine who is to blame in the crash.

When it comes to liability in pedestrian crashes, the smallest details may be the evidence needed to prove what actually happened. If you are being met with resistance from an insurance company, then we can step in and deal with them directly. We will focus our efforts on making sure you are fairly compensated for your suffering.

Call us now in Pasco County at 727-847-2299 or contact us online for a free case review so that we can help you with your pedestrian accident claim.