A man in his fifties was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after an oncoming car struck him while he was crossing Rosa Parks Boulevard in Nashville early Sunday morning. The man and a woman had been walking to a nearby 7-Eleven when the crash happened around 1 a.m.
According to the man's wife, he suffered serious injuries in the collision, as reported by WZTV. The station reported that the driver's vehicle struck the man while he was in the roadway, though details on the exact cross street, the driver's speed, and whether any citations have been filed remain unclear.
A Corridor With a Troubled History
This is not the first serious pedestrian incident tied to this stretch of road. In January, Metro Nashville Police investigated a fatal collision on I-65 North near Rosa Parks Boulevard after a 44-year-old man was struck by an oncoming vehicle around 2:30 a.m., with the driver remaining at the scene during the investigation, according to Metro Nashville Police. Hoodline covered that fatal I-65 crash at the time.
Concerns about the corridor go back further still. During a January 2021 memorial service, pedestrian advocacy group Walk Bike Nashville pointed to high-speed roads like Rosa Parks Boulevard as recurring danger zones, citing the earlier death of 59-year-old Belinda Ann Browning, who was struck while crossing the boulevard carrying groceries, per the Nashville Scene.
Part of a Citywide Safety Pattern
Rosa Parks Boulevard sits within Metro Nashville's Vision Zero High Injury Network, a designation the city adopted in August 2022 after finding that just 2% of city streets account for 60% of all fatal and severe pedestrian crashes, according to ThatCarHitMe.com. That designation reflects the multi-lane layout, high vehicle speeds, and limited safe crossing points that define much of the corridor.
City officials have taken some steps to address traffic conditions along the boulevard. In July, the Nashville Department of Transportation deployed roughly 50 radar-based sensors along the corridor to modernize signal detection, per smartmicro. Separately, Metro Council resolutions earlier this year authorized tactical urbanism upgrades along nearby Jefferson Street, including mid-block crossing improvements, as detailed by Nashville Newsletters.
Calls for a Dedicated Crossing Remain Unmet
Community requests for more direct pedestrian protection on Rosa Parks Boulevard predate Sunday's crash. In a 2024 capital budget request, Metro Councilmember Kyonzté Toombs proposed a dedicated pedestrian crossing at 24th Avenue North/Mainstream Drive and Rosa Parks Boulevard, citing heavy foot traffic to bus stops and recreational areas, according to city records posted on Nashville.gov. That request came alongside the Nashville Department of Transportation's broader Church Street Complete Street Project, launched in November 2024 near the 8th Avenue/Rosa Parks Boulevard intersection to add protected bike lanes and improved crossings under the city's Vision Zero framework.
Under Tennessee law, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians crossing within marked or unmarked crosswalks when those pedestrians are on the driver's half of the road or close enough to be in danger, per Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-8-134 as outlined by Justia. Separately, Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-8-135 places the duty to yield on pedestrians crossing outside of marked or intersection crosswalks, according to King Law Offices. Regardless of where a pedestrian crosses, Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-8-136 requires drivers to exercise due care at all times to avoid striking pedestrians on the roadway, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office notes.
It remains unknown whether investigators have identified the exact cross street where Sunday's crash occurred, how fast the vehicle was traveling, or whether any citations have been issued. WZTV has not indicated the man's current condition beyond describing his injuries as serious, according to his wife.
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