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Nationwide hit-and-run deaths at record high; bicyclists, pedestrians majority of victims

FILE - A painted bicycle marks a makeshift memorial for a cyclist who was struck by a hit-and-run motorist is seen Wednesday, April 11, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Damian Dovarganes / AP)
By Eli Francovich elif@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508

Hit-and-run deaths in 2016 set a new, terrible record, according to data released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Thursday.

2,049 people were killed by hit-and-run crashes in 2016, according to the report. 65 percent of those killed were pedestrians or cyclists.

According to an AAA news release over the last decade nearly 20 percent of all pedestrian deaths were caused by hit-and-run crashes. During that same time period only one percent of all driver fatalities were caused by hit-and-runs.

That’s a 62 percent increase from 2009.

More than one hit-and-run occurs every minute in the U.S., according to the news release. 2016 was the deadliest year since 1975 when National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began compiling statistics on fatal motor vehicle crashes, according to the news release.

According to a KREM 2 report from earlier this year the number of hit-and-runs in Spokane have increased every year since 2014. In 2017 there were 3,008 hit-and-runs in Spokane.