Twenty pedestrians a year killed on road

TWENTY pedestrians die every year on the road, according to official figures released yesterday by the Nicosia Police Department.

According to Nicosia Police Chief Christos Dionysiou, in the last five years, 97 pedestrians lost their lives while 1,422 were injured. Thirty of these road deaths occurred in the Nicosia district.
Dionysiou announced yesterday that the Police Department was launching a campaign focusing on the prevention of road accidents for pedestrians. As part of the campaign, 1,500 reflective armbands have been prepared in association with Laiki Insurance Company. The armbands, together with information leaflets, will be handed out at schools and at centres for the elderly as well as at main Nicosia roads.

The campaign comes as a 75-year-old woman was killed on Wednesday afternoon in Paphos after being run over by a pick-up truck.

Police say the vehicle struck Elena Katranova as she was crossing Ikarou Street in Kato Paphos at about 6pm on Wednesday afternoon. The woman was seriously injured and immediately transported to Paphos General Hospital, where she died a few hours later.

The driver, a 38 year-old male, also from Paphos, was reportedly traveling at a very high speed at the time of the accident. He was arrested and questioned in relation with the incident.

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