A 22-year-old man was sent to the hospital in critical condition Saturday night, after Citrus Heights police said he was hit by a car at 40-miles-an-hour while attempting to cross Auburn Boulevard outside of a crosswalk.
[box][Related: a Valentine’s Day crash involving a pedestrian shut down Auburn Boulevard near Kanai Avenue for 10 hours. See story: “Police close Auburn Blvd for 10hrs after Valentine’s Day crash”][/box]
Sergeant Mike Wells said the collision occurred around 7 p.m. Saturday, when a Toyota Matrix hit the man in the northbound lanes of Auburn Boulevard, near the intersection of Twin Oaks Avenue. The collision caused police to shut down both northbound lanes for about five hours, re-opening traffic just before 1 a.m. Sunday, according to an email advisory sent out by police dispatchers.
Wells said the pedestrian was able to cross southbound lanes successfully before being struck in the northbound lanes, resulting in “major injuries.” Significant damage on the Toyota’s driver-side bumper and fender area was noticeable at the accident scene.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, according to Wells, but neither speed nor alcohol appear to be a factor.
Wells said the Department “would like to remind all pedestrians to not cross the street outside of a marked crosswalk or controlled intersection.”
<<Related: Police had set up a DUI Checkpoint on Auburn Boulevard several hundred feet from the crash site, just one night before: “Weekend DUI Checkpoint nets 1 arrest, 6 tows”>>
