Study finds pedestrian, bike crash in Atlanta increased in 2021

ATLANTA - A new report from an Atlanta nonprofit finds fatal pedestrian and cyclist accidents nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021.

"It was hard for my family. Only 40 days apart we lost them," Brittany Flournoy said.

In October 2021 on Campbellton Road, a car hit and killed Flournoy's mother, Tomika Ivery.

Not even two months later, her sister, Jasmine Gaither, died in a five-car crash in North Druid Hills. She was on the side of the road waiting for help. The final car hit and killed her, but never stopped.

"Just pay attention. Cars are serious. They're really not toys. We're in a rush to go nowhere," Flournoy said.

A local nonprofit, PropelATL aims at making Atlanta's streets safer to prevent tragedies like the Flournoys endured.

A new study from that group finds fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists are on the rise.

"In 2021, 31 people were killed while walking, biking or using a wheelchair in Atlanta," PropelATL executive director Rebecca Serna said. "That's a 150% increase from 2020. We surpassed the 2020 number in May of last year."

She says she wants to make roads safer as more people are on the roads as the state continues to recover from the pandemic.

"We could implement protected crosswalks, raised intersections, separated bike lanes," she said.

Flournoy has helped with the advocacy group's memorial page. Her loved ones are two of PropelATL's "31 reasons why" the city should take action to increase road safety.

In May, Atlanta voters approved more than $300 million in spending on new sidewalks, safer streets and bike lanes.

"I don't feel like either accident should've happened. I do want to save other lives," Flournoy said.