Pedestrian Deaths: Bergen County Ranks In Top 10 In The Nation

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — If you feel like you've been reading a lot of local news stories on pedestrian deaths, you're not imagining it.

A recent study by a personal injury law firm, Laborde Earles, found that Bergen County, N.J. has had one of the highest rates of pedestrian deaths in the United States.

The firm used data on fatal car crashes from 2017 to 2021, they said. They only looked at counties that had 10 or more car crashes.

Alexandria, Va. was the county with the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities among car crashes, they said. Out of the 25 total traffic deaths recorded in the period, 15 were pedestrians, they said.

In New York County (Manhattan), there were 92 pedestrian deaths out of 178 total traffic fatalities. "These figures reflect the significant pedestrian safety challenges in this densely populated urban area," they said.

Essex County, New Jersey, ranked 7th, with 106 pedestrian fatalities, making up 46.29 percent of all traffic deaths.

Hudson County was in 8th place, with 56 pedestrian deaths, accounting for 46.28 percent of the county's traffic fatalities.

In the ninth spot, Union County had 65 pedestrian deaths, 45.14 percent of its total traffic fatalities.

Bergen County had 79 pedestrian fatalities over the five years, which was 44.13 percent of the total traffic deaths.

Attorney Digger Earles said, "Across the country there were more than 32,000 pedestrian deaths from car crashes over the five year period, which is more than 17 people each day."

All-Time High

Traffic deaths in general hit a 14-year high in New Jersey in 2021, according to federal numbers.

Recently, in Bergen County, a Mahwah mother of two and a 30-year-old man from Wyckoff were struck and killed in separate accidents in the last week in January.