Maybe you should put down your smartphone while crossing the street.
In 2017, there were 5,984 pedestrian deaths in the U.S., according to a new report by the Governors Highway Safety Association.
This is the second year in a row where deaths neared 6,000. In 2016, fatalities rose by 9 percent, according to USA Today.
Experts did not provide a scientific reason for the increase but suspect that smartphone and marijuana use, by drivers, are the cause, reports USA Today.
The director of safety for Sam Schwartz Consulting told USA Today that the number of pedestrian deaths is alarming.
“It’s downright disturbing,” said Richard Retting, who authored the report for GHSA “People outside cars are dying at levels we haven’t seen in 25 years.”
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Teddy is a multimedia journalist who serves as the culture and political writer for EBONY. His work has appeared in NBC's Owned and Operated stations, as well as DNAInfo, which covered local neighborhood news in New York City. He received his Masters in Journalism from the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY in 2017.