By Larry Felton Johnson

According to a public information release from Officer Aaron Wilson, the Cobb County Police Department’s STEP Unit is investigating an incident on South Cobb Drive, north of Waldrep Circle, that hospitalized a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries.

The accident occurred on Sunday, October 27, 2024, around 8:16 PM.

According to the initial investigation, a male pedestrian was crossing South Cobb Drive “outside of a crosswalk” when he was struck by a blue 2010 Hyundai Elantra traveling northbound.

The pedestrian sustained life-threatening injuries and was taken to Kennestone Hospital. The driver was uninjured and stopped the vehicle in the northbound lane.

Conditions around the location of the accident

[The Courier has a practice of checking out the road conditions where accidents occurred when it is feasible. These sections of the articles are written from the first-person perspective since the usual third-person text resulted in awkward sentences]

I went to the scene of the accident on Tuesday, October 29, two days after the pedestrian was struck by the auto, to check out the road conditions where the incident took place.

The pink chalk markings below represent the place the pedestrian was hit.

The original public information release stated that the pedestrian had crossed “outside of a crosswalk,” but no crosswalks were in the immediate vicinity. The nearest marked crosswalk was on Pat Mell Road, a half mile from the accident scene. This means that to cross in marked crosswalks, a person in one of the extensive residential communities on the west side of South Cobb Drive would have to make a 2-mile round trip to walk across the street. To the north, the nearest crosswalk is even further away, Austell Road, at 0.8 miles.

Also, when I took photos in the early afternoon, at least eight people, including a couple with a stroller, crossed at or near the location of the accident within about ten minutes. Here’s a photo of the family beginning their crossing a few feet from the police accident markings on South Cobb Drive, followed by a photo of them reaching the other side.

South Cobb Drive at Waldrep Circle is adjacent to the Fair Oaks community, between Pat Mell and Austell roads.

The pedestrian was hit directly in front of a small retail strip that includes a clinic, a liquor store, a vape store, and a restaurant.

Motor vehicles were coming over the hill from the south at high speeds. The sightlines were better to the north, but the vehicles were still traveling at high speeds. The photo below is the view from the accident site facing northward toward Austell Road.

In summary, no crosswalks are within reasonable walking distance for routine trips.

Despite the clear danger to people crossing on foot, many pedestrians cross there, and the width of the roadway, plus the lack of signalized intersections, encourages many drivers to travel at interstate speeds.

The STEP Unit

The STEP Unit, which investigates serious or fatal traffic crashes, is one of the Cobb County Police Department’s Special Operations units, and is described on the web page of the Cobb County Police Department as follows:

“The Selective Traffic Enforcement Unit is responsible for investigating all fatal traffic crashes, enforcement of traffic laws in those areas which analysis indicates an elevated amount of crashes. 

“They are also responsible for the administration and execution of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. 

“They also take part in special security details, and investigate crashes involving Department vehicles when requested.”

The STEP Unit is commanded by Lieutenant Lane Johnson.