9 Temecula Area Pedestrian Deaths In 17 Months Prompt CHP Op

TEMECULA VALLEY, CA— To deter bad decisions by motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists using rights-of-way throughout southwest Riverside County, the California Highway Patrol will be conducting enforcement operations at a number of intersections this week.

The safety campaign is set to get underway Wednesday morning at Baxter and Briggs roads in French Valley, as well as Blackwell Boulevard and Grand Avenue, just west of Lake Elsinore, according to the CHP. During the operation, officers will dress in plain clothes and cross the street, while uniformed officers monitor motorists' responses. Those stopped may be ticketed.

"As part of its ongoing efforts to improve pedestrian safety in southwest Riverside County, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will be conducting a pedestrian safety enforcement operation that will focus on motorists and pedestrians who fail to yield the right-of- way or who take unsafe and illegal actions," CHP Officer Mike Lassig said in a news release.

Lassig, with the agency's Temecula office, said the operation stems from concerns about fatal accidents in the region. A total of nine pedestrians have been killed in the area patrolled by the Temecula Area CHP since January 2018, two of them this year alone.

The most recent death in the area happened on April 6, when a pedestrian was struck by a Ford Flex on the northbound side of I-215, just north of Keller Road, according to Lassig. Before that, a pedestrian suffered fatal injuries when they were hit on Morgan Hill Drive at Madigan Street near SR-79 and Butterfield Stage Road.

"The CHP is committed to preventing these tragic deaths and is leading the effort with proactive enforcement and education programs," Lassig said.

The campaign is being funded through grants provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and administered by the California Office of Traffic Safety.

— City News Service contributed to this report