Indian-origin man dies in US state car crash

New York, Nov 20: A 52-year-old Indian-origin man died on the spot after he was struck by a car in the US state of Ohio, the highway patrol police said.

Piyush Patel was walking south along substation road near Autumnwood Lane in Brunswick Hills when a southbound 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI struck him on the evening of November 18.

Ohio Highway patrol officers arrived on the scene and pronounced Patel dead on the scene.

The Volkswagen driver was 25-year-old Cameron Luiza from Brunswick who was not injured and was wearing safety restraints at the time.

The crash remains under investigation, and no arrest has been made so far by the police.

On November 14, at least six people died and 18 others were injured in a crash involving multiple vehicles on an Ohio interstate, including a charter bus carrying students.

Earlier this year in June, another Indian-origin man, Milan Hiteshbhai Patel (30) died in a car crash in Ohio.

An estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes this year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) early estimates of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2023.

In 2022, Montgomery and its seven surrounding counties had at least 32,752 traffic crashes resulting in 172 deaths, of which 1,541 were blamed on distracted driving -- as were eight of the deaths, according to Ohio Department of Public Safety statistics.

“NHTSA is addressing traffic safety in many ways, including new rulemakings for lifesaving vehicle technologies and increased Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for state highway safety offices. We will continue to work with our safety partners to meet the collective goal of zero fatalities,” Acting Administrator Ann Carlson was quoted as saying in a local media report.