LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Flashing lights glowed in the dark dewy mist of Louisville's latest pedestrian death Thursday night.
Charlotte Hatley, 48, was killed when she was hit by a car while crossing Cane Run Road.
It's a pain Marguerite Malone knows all too well. In 2017 it was her daughter, U.S. Army veteran Monedria Malone, who died while walking on Indian Trail in front of the family church.
"My heart goes out to that family, because no mom or dad or family member should have to suffer such a thing," Malone said.
It was a hit-and run-crash. She was hit by a vehicle that didn't stop. To this day, no arrests have been made.
"She was baby girl and ... she didn't bother nobody," Marguerite Malone said.
Every dot on this map represents a serious or fatal pedestrian crash in Louisville since 2008:
That's they year the city was named a "Pedestrian Focus City" by the federal government. Since then, Louisville has received grant money for training on how to design roads for pedestrian safety, an education campaign for the public and increased enforcement.
But the numbers show few gains: While pedestrian deaths dropped from 2017-18, they still hover around the same place from 10 years ago.
"It's extremely frustrating since I've been following this since 2008," said Dirk Gowin of Metro Public Works.
Gowin said 80 percent of pedestrian crashes ending in death occur at night.
"I think it's that urban-surburan interface where the speed picks up," he said. "The number of lanes is great. The roads could be better lit, and people are trying to cross the street, and they think they're seen by the motorists, and they're not."
Marguerite Malone and daughter, Monedria Malone
LMetro Public Works, the University of Louisville, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, police and the the Louisville Metro Public Health Department are all now in a task force to come up with a road safety action plan specifically for Louisville by the end of this year.
Malone, a traffic guard for Jefferson County Public Schools, said it can't come soon enough.
"Last Monday, a.m., at Newburg Middle School, I was directing my traffic as usual, and a car was going so fast he had to turn the corner to avoid hitting me," she said. "My heart was just shaking, and all I could do was just talk to God and say, 'I can't get killed on the same street my daughter got killed on.'"
Last year, pedestrian deaths reached a near 30-year high, nationally.
Experts primarily blame device distractions.
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Louisville Metro government is trying to address the issue of pedestrian deaths after a transportation manager described the problem as a black eye on the city.
