Montgomery County officials are hoping a new campaign will help battle a growing trend of pedestrian deaths.
According to county police, 12 pedestrians died after being struck by cars in 2013 -- compared only six last year. One of the victims included Marylin Ali, a D.C. nanny coming home to Wheaton by bus when she was struck by a car crossing Connecticut Avenue. The motorist who struck and killed her fled the scene and has not yet been identified or charged.
During a news conference in Silver Spring Wednesday, county executive Isaiah Leggett introduced a new campaign using comic book-style graphics to tell a story in both Spanish and English. The brightly colored posters will be placed on county Ride-On buses and bus shelters.
"If get hit at an intersection, it can be deadly," Leggett said. "We want to avoid that. We want to make sure that people understand the seriousness of what we are talking about because we have had too many incidents that are too serious."
NBA player-turned crossing guard Adrian Dantley was on hand during Tuesday's event.
"It's important for people to use the cross walk and pay attention to drivers," he said. "It's also very important that the drivers pay attention to the pedestrians, so everybody has to be vigilant."
