David Boraks

Main Street in downtown Davidson was closed Friday afternoon while police investigated the death of a pedestrian struck by a garbage truck.  

The incident happened around 12:30pm, as the person crossed South Main Street, while walking two dogs. One of the dogs also died. 

The accident happened in the crosswalk between Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse and Raeford’s Barber Shop. It’s an area where several streets come together, near restaurants, an ice cream shop and a pharmacy. The town of Davidson recently installed new crosswalk lights at the intersection.  

Police haven’t identified the person or given details about how the accident happened. There’s also no word yet on whether the driver will be charged.

Pedestrian safety has been a major concern in recent years in Davidson in recent years. Town officials added new signs and crossing lights around town after a couple of previous incidents.

In 2011, Davidson College professor Robert Whitton died of injuries he suffered after being struck while crossing Concord Road. Whitton was walking home from campus one evening when he was hit by a car driven by a Concord man. That driver eventually was found guilty of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.

A Hough High School student was seriously injured in 2013 when he was hit while skateboarding across Davidson-Concord Road.

Both incidents brought calls for safety improvements and enforcement. The town has improved signs and markings on and around crosswalks, and in some cases put up new crossing signals.  Some crosswalks now have orange safety flags pedestrians can wave as they cross to signal traffic to slow down.  

But getting drivers to heed all the signals and flags has been difficult, and residents often share stories about near misses.