68-year-old dies in pedestrian crash on Bennock Mill Road
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A 68-year-old man has died after a pedestrian crash on Monday morning, according to officials.
The Richmond County Coroner’s Office says it responded to the 800 block of Bennock Mill Road in reference to a pedestrian fatality.
Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen says Dan Benjamin Sheffield, of Bennock Mill Road, died in the crash.
The coroner’s office says Sheffield was struck by a vehicle, and was pronounced dead on the scene at 5 a.m.
This isn’t the first time a fatal crash has happened on Bennock Mill Road.
In Aug. 2022, 77-year-old Coy Plummer died at the intersection of Mike Padgett Highway and Bennock Mill Road after he was driving near the 4400 block of Mike Padgett Highway when his vehicle was struck on the driver’s side.
In Aug. 2020, David Leshawn Smith Jr, 28, died after he lost control of his vehicle making a sharp turn onto Bennock Mill Loop from Bennock Mill Road.
Augusta has seen an uptick in pedestrian fatalities in the last couple of years.
The numbers tell a story – nearly 100 deaths within the past decade alone in the south Augusta region.
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Fifty-three people died on these four roads in the last 10 years: Peach Orchard Road, Mike Padgett Highway, Deans Bridge Road and Gordon Highway.
Fifty deaths occurred between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
A new study from AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found pedestrian deaths have risen by more than 80% in the past 15 years, after reaching a historic low in 2009.
The study found nearly all of that increase can be connected to urban arterial roads – like those four in Augusta we mentioned – after dark.
Research also shows these deadly incidents are more likely to happen in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and on roads with poor lighting.
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