A motorist struck and killed a pedestrian near GE Appliance Park early Sunday morning, according to Louisville officials.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified the victim Monday as Pamela Renee Pruitt, a 44-year-old African American woman and Louisville resident.
Dwight Mitchell, an LMPD spokesperson, said Sunday that a driver struck Pruitt while she was crossing the 5100 block of Fegenbush Lane at around 5:30 a.m. Mitchell said Pruitt was pronounced dead at the scene and that the driver was present when police arrived.
The coroner’s office attributed her death to blunt force trauma and labeled it an accident.
On Monday, LPMD spokesperson Aaron Ellis said the department’s traffic unit was still investigating the incident. Ellis did not identify the driver, and no charges have been announced.
Sunday’s fatal crash occurred just hours before city officials co-hosted a gathering at Iroquois Park to honor victims of traffic collisions. The event was part of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
Claire Yates is a city transportation planner who helped organize Sunday’s event, the city’s first annual commemoration for the day of remembrance. She also manages Vision Zero Louisville, an initiative to improve local traffic safety.
“I think more and more people are realizing that our transportation system is dangerous. It's unsustainable and inequitable,” Yates said.
Traffic safety advocates and some city leaders have been promoting state legislation allowing local governments to set up speed safety and red light cameras, which they say would help reduce traffic injuries and fatalities.
State senator Reginald Thomas of Lexington, a Democrat and the minority caucus chair, introduced a bill earlier this year that would have established fines for motorists crossing intersections with cameras under a red light.
While Louisville Metro Council passed a resolution supporting the bill, it did not advance out of a state senate committee.
“There's a lot of different ways to go about implementing an automated enforcement program. But the very first step is state-enabling legislation,” Yates said.
Ninety people died in Louisville road crashes from January to September of this year, and nearly 400 people were seriously injured, according to Kentucky State Police data.
