Pedestrian-related accidents continue to rise in Los Angeles area

On Friday night, actor Orson Bean was struck by two cars and killed in Venice. Earlier that same day, a 92-year-old man was hospitalized after an alleged hit-and-run on Burlington Avenue.

Fernando Ventura saw the man get hit.

"I seen a guy on the ground and I see the black car takeoff so I got my camera and I took the video in case he didn't stop and the guy sped off," said Ventura.

The City of Los Angeles has seen a dramatic increase in the number of accidents involving pedestrians.

"This is an epidemic that we're really tired of having to tell loved ones that their family is either severely injured or they're dead," LAPD Det. Moses Castillo.

In the case with Bean, the drivers stopped. Police say he was outside a marked crosswalk and was hit first by a Honda Civic going west and hit a second time by a Toyota Prius.

"Sometimes, it's the pedestrian not paying attention crossing the street when it's not safe to do so," said Det. Castillo.

"Traffic changes instantly and people are not paying attention. People who are driving are distracted by many things," he added.

Back in 2015, Mayor Eric Garcetti launched Vision Zero, a plan to eliminate pedestrian traffic deaths. Since then, the number of pedestrian injuries and deaths has gone up.

In 2019, more than half of the nearly 250 traffic deaths in the city of Los Angeles involved pedestrians.

Three-quarters of the deadly hit and runs in the city involved pedestrians.