EL PASO--- One group of activists say they want to create awareness after a recent string of accidents involving elderly pedestrians.
The most recent killed Maria Mora in Central El Paso. A green Japanese-model sedan hit the woman, who was not walking in a crosswalk two Sundays ago.
The week before, another elderly man was hit by a truck in East El Paso. He was also not in a crosswalk, but luckily he survived.
NewsChannel 9 spent some time watching elderly crossers near Mesa St. and Resler and found a common problem.
They don't use the crosswalks.
Phillip Gunther, 71, doesn't have a car. Only a cart and his feet to get him and his belongings around.
"I try to practice defensive walking if you want to call it that," he said.
But while Gunther is okay trying to cross streets like Mesa on his own, he can see the danger for others his age trying to cross.
"Because people, they're distracted. They're using their cell phones or they're looking off some other direction and if you step out in front of them... it's a dangerous situation."
That's why David Chavez, a member of the Chief Greg Allen's Citizens' Advisory Board, says it's time to act.
"When they do illegal crossing, you gotta go back to your basic thing and understand that's not going to be healthy for you," he said.
The city needs what he calls the three 'E's';
more police enforcement of jaywalkers, better city engineering at crosswalks and more education for seniors who don't drive.
So many elderly pedestrians use the sun metro bus service to get around town, so it would be an ideal place to spread their message, said Chavez.
The board has been in talks with Sun Metro to get brochures and ads for their buses talking about pedestrian safety.
They'll then make a proposal to the police chief to get the program rolling.
Chavez says the program is in its very early stages.
They will be presenting more information at the next Sun Metro board meeting.
They hope to have the outreach and education part of the equation started by the end of the year.
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