A 35-year-old man crossing the street near West Market Street and South Highland Avenue was struck and killed early Saturday when a speeding car plowed through the intersection, setting off a chain-reaction crash that also left two drivers with serious injuries. Akron police say the wreck happened at roughly 2:05 a.m., and investigators believe the driver may have been impaired.
According to Cleveland 19 News, Akron police responded to the area of West Market Street and South Highland Avenue for a serious multi-vehicle accident involving a pedestrian. A red Chrysler 300 was traveling westbound on West Market Street at a high rate of speed when it struck the pedestrian, then continued westbound and struck the rear of a Buick Encore before colliding with two parked vehicles, the outlet reports.
The 35-year-old man was crossing the street when he was struck by the Chrysler and was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said. The station's report identifies the Chrysler's driver as a 45-year-old woman, while the Buick Encore was driven by a 57-year-old man.
Two Drivers Hospitalized With Serious Injuries
Both the 45-year-old woman and the 57-year-old man sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, per the same account. Neither driver's condition beyond that description has been detailed.
Traffic officers believe speed was a factor in the crash, and they also observed evidence that the driver might have been impaired, according to the report. The Akron Police Accident Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene to conduct an investigation, and the crash remains under investigation, with no further details yet released on charges or findings.
A Recurring National Concern
Pedestrian deaths remain a persistent problem nationwide: in 2024, 7,080 pedestrians were killed and more than 71,000 were injured, according to a snippet from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency has also described its Crash Risk study, noted on nhtsa.gov, as the first large-scale U.S. study to examine drugs beyond alcohol in relation to crash risk.
Akron police expressed sympathy for the friends and family affected by the man's death, the outlet reports. The identities of the pedestrian and the two drivers have not been released, and it remains unclear which driver officers suspect may have been impaired as the investigation continues.
