7th pedestrian killed in Lexington accident this year

A Lexington pedestrian died early Sunday after a late-night accident. Jeffrey Shields, 56, died at the University of Kentucky medical center of blunt force trauma, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.

According to the coroner’s office, Shields was hit on Saturday by a vehicle on the outer loop in the 400 block of East New Circle Road, near Meadow. He died just after midnight.

It was the city’s 7th pedestrian death this year, according to police department statistics. That’s two less than the nine killed in all of 2017, and there are five complete months yet to go. The record is 10 deaths in a year recorded in 2016 and 2008.

Lexington Police Lt. Chris Van Brackel said that charges are not expected to be filed in Shields’ death. The driver, who said Shields stepped out into traffic, stopped after the accident. Shields was not in a crosswalk.

Weather was not reported to be a factor; streetlights in the area were working at the time, Van Brackel said.

“The most important thing for pedestrians to understand is you’re a lot harder to see than you think you are,” he said.

Like Shields, the pedestrians killed this year are older. The youngest was 32. Three have been in their 50s.

This story was originally published July 22, 2018 at 9:51 AM.