GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro police are looking into how a UNCG police officer hit a student in a crosswalk Monday evening.
It's just another example of the challenges facing pedestrians in the city of Greensboro.
Police say there have been 2 deadly pedestrian-involved crashes so far this year. One on South swing Road on January 4th and another on South Elm-Eugene Street on January 29th.
In total there have been 35 incidents involving either pedestrians or bicycles this year in the City of Greensboro.
On Monday, a yet-to-be-identified UNCG student was hit by a police car on South Josephine Blvd and Walker Avenue. School authorities would only say the student was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and is recovering.
Greensboro's Department of Transportation is planning to make changes to that intersection and others on campus safer, because of the heavy pedestrian traffic.
Their plan includes widening or relocating crosswalks as well as adjusting the timing on pedestrian and traffic signals to avoid conflict.
The current challenge, however, is that the project is stalled due to state budget constraints.
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According to the latest numbers available on pedestrian-involved crashes from the NCDOT pedestrian incidents and fatalities are on the rise.
The report named 'An Illustrated Analysis of North Carolina Traffic Crash Statistics' and authored by the Division of Motor Vehicles showed that in 2018 there were 2,435 pedestrian-involved crashes with 225 pedestrian deaths.
That number is up by 25 compared to 2017 which had a total of 200.
The report also showed 2,210 pedestrians survived those incidents with injuries.
Just last month, a candidate for Guilford County district judge, Caroline Pemberton, was hit on North Edgeworth and West Market Street.
She was crossing a street in a crosswalk when she was hit by a driver. Pemberton spoke to WFMY News 2 about the moment the impact happened.
"I was waiting for the light to change so I could walk in the pedestrian crosswalk with the sign of a man walking that tells you now you can walk, and as I was walking in the crosswalk the next thing I know there was something on top of me and I couldn’t figure out what it was because I didn’t feel being hit to tell you the truth," said Pemberton.
"The car came from the right and I’m still trying to figure out how I got all the damages on the left but I guess at some point I was spun around. I was just laying there trying to figure out what is this. One minute I was walking and next minute I feel like I’m in a closed environment and I start looking around and I said 'Dear God, what is this?'”
"At that point, I lay still, my eyes are moving and I'm yelling stop, but I stayed still because I figured if I'm under a car if they run over my head, or my abdomen or something that's it me," she continued.
Pemberton said when she started the New Year, she had set her eyes on the Judge's bench and never expected to end up in a wheelchair.
"There are some days that I'm reflecting and I look above and I say 'Thank You for sparing my life but what is it that You have in store for me to spare it while everything else is broken'," she reflected.
Besides broken bones, Pemberton suffered other internal injuries but doctors said she didn't suffer any brain or spine injury and would be able to walk on her own again.
Pemberton is currently in rehabilitation and had very stern words for all drivers.
"I've seen people driving and texting, is someone's life worth that?" she asked rhetorically.
"Give pedestrians more respect and we won't have all this. Just pay more attention to it, especially in a downtown area where you have people hustling to work and it's a busy time of the day," she added.
Since the incident, Pemberton has welcomed two grandchildren whose presence she says has brought her joy amidst her challenges.
Greensboro Police charged Charlene Zielinski Johnston, the driver who hit Pemberton with careless and reckless driving and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Greensboro Police is still investigating the UNCG pedestrian incident.
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