Stamford Police To Launch Pedestrian Safety Initiative: Report

STAMFORD, CT — In an effort to end pedestrian deaths and injuries around the city, the Stamford Police Department is planning on launching a new initiative, according to an exclusive report from News 12 Connecticut.

The initiative, which is set to begin over the next few weeks, will aim to raise awareness about driver and pedestrian safety through education and increased patrols, News 12 CT said.

Police also want to make reflective gear available for people to wear when they cross the street.

There has been a rash of pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions and pedestrian fatalities in Stamford in recent years.

In December 2022, Giovani Vega Benis and Yuliana Arias Lozano, both 25 and Stamford residents, were struck and killed by a car while crossing Washington Boulevard.

Michael Talbot, a Greenwich resident, was arrested and later charged in connection with the deaths, police said.

Talbot pleaded guilty last month to two counts of manslaughter, one count of evading causing death, one count of operating under the influence, and one count of reckless driving.

Last summer, the Rev. Tommie Jackson, 69, was hit by a police car after retrieving his mail on Wire Mill Road, according to police. An investigation remains ongoing.

Marie Jean-Charles, 74, was struck and killed in a hit-and-run while walking to work at ShopRite on the West Side of Stamford a few days before Thanksgiving last November.

No arrests have been made yet, police said. Investigators are waiting for lab results to come back from the suspect car which was seized shortly after the incident.

Just last month, Cesar Cabrera-Guzman, 48, of Stamford, was hit by an SUV and killed in the early morning hours on High Ridge Road.

The city of Stamford launched a Vision Zero initiative in September 2022 with a goal to eliminate all traffic fatalities and injuries by 2032.

A Vizion Zero Task Force meets monthly.

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