A man was left in critical condition after being struck by a car in the Grahamwood area of Memphis on Saturday, and the driver who hit him didn't stick around. Police say the vehicle, described as a dark-colored Honda sedan, fled the scene near Summer Avenue and Freeman Street, leaving investigators searching for answers and the public searching for information about who was behind the wheel.
According to WREG.com, officers responded to the crash just before 1:20 p.m. Saturday. Memphis police reported that a man was injured in the pedestrian crash and was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The driver of the dark-colored Honda sedan left the scene, and the investigation into the hit-and-run remains ongoing as of Saturday afternoon.
Police have asked the public for any information about the crash that could help identify the driver or the vehicle. Tipsters can contact Crimestoppers at 901-528-CASH.
A Previous Summer Avenue Crash
A separate pedestrian crash on Summer Avenue in August 2022 sent a woman to the hospital.
The Saturday crash adds to a string of recent pedestrian strikes around Memphis. Just over a week earlier, on September 24, officers responded to a hit-and-run crash at North Graham Street and Chelsea Avenue, according to Action News 5. That crash also left a male pedestrian in critical condition, and investigators recovered video showing a red or orange four-door sedan strike him as it traveled northbound on Graham toward Chelsea Avenue.
A City Already Grappling With Pedestrian Deaths
The Saturday crash lands amid a grim stretch for pedestrian safety in Memphis. The Tennessee Highway Safety Office reported 148 pedestrian crashes and 28 fatalities in the city from January 1 through September 9 alone, the same WREG.com outlet noted in earlier coverage of the trend.
That toll follows a troubling distinction for the city. Memphis had the highest rate of traffic deaths involving pedestrians in the country for two consecutive years, according to Planetizen. The Dangerous by Design report named Memphis the deadliest U.S. city for pedestrians for the second year in a row, and researchers tied the city's high death rate to wide lanes, frequent driveways and long crossing distances that make streets harder to navigate safely on foot.
Those same researchers recommended redesigning the city's most dangerous streets with improved crosswalks, shorter driveways, expanded pedestrian space and more greenery, Planetizen reported. For now, though, the investigation into Saturday's hit-and-run on Summer Avenue is ongoing, and police have not released further details about the man's condition or identified a suspect.
