Video: Ride along as DeKalb police urge motorists to use caution along dangerous roadway

DeKALB – A DeKalb police investigation into a February crash that sent one man to the ICU is prompting authorities to urge motorists to exercise caution when driving on a dangerous stretch of North Annie Glidden Road between Varsity Boulevard and Hillcrest Drive.

It was all part of a recent police ride-along.

“He was a pedestrian in the roadway,” Sgt. Raynaldo Hernandez said. “I’m not certain if he was walking on the crosswalk or not, but as you can see, I was going to point out this area over here. We have areas like that on Annie Glidden because it can be a dangerous area where people go upwards of 40, 50 miles per hour in a very confined, congested space.”

[T]hat is the area where we see a lot of pedestrian traffic. And we always encourage vehicles to slow down. It’s a very high traffic area. Lots of cars speed through there.”

—  Sgt. Raynaldo Hernandez, DeKalb police officer

During the ride-along, Hernandez learned that new information had surfaced in an ongoing police investigation.

Police said an individual was driving north one evening when their vehicle allegedly struck the pedestrian, causing severe injuries to the victim.

When drivers don’t take time to pay attention or look around, it’s not uncommon for crashes to occur, resulting in injury or death. In fact, a lot of pedestrians tend to cross North Annie Glidden Road.

“This is the area here. Varsity and Annie Glidden is where a lot of people cross here,” Hernandez said during the ride-along. “There is a crosswalk, but I’m not certain that he was on that crosswalk. However, that is the area where we see a lot of pedestrian traffic. And we always encourage vehicles to slow down. It’s a very high-traffic area. Lots of cars speed through there. Unfortunately, that individual was struck by a vehicle.”

Police said the driver was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

The spot where North Annie Glidden Road meets Varsity Boulevard is not the only intersection in town that authorities have said may be dangerous. So, too, is the intersection at North Annie Glidden Road and Hillcrest Drive.

As he sat monitoring traffic in his squad car, Hernandez said safety is always top of mind for DeKalb police.

“We’ll have officers a lot of times in the Casey’s parking lot, a lot of times in the Thirsty Liquors parking lot, just spot up,” Hernandez said. “Even 7-Eleven, just kind of situate there just in case erratic driving takes place or any pedestrians are in danger of getting struck while crossing the street.”

Police said the crash remains under investigation by authorities.