New Englanders have enjoyed the success of their football team in recent years. Patriots games have held packed crowds at Gillette Stadium and helped the team to a run of playoff appearances. A recent pedestrian injury near the site after the game, however, reminds football fans – and anyone attending a large event – of the need to be extra-cautious when out walking in crowds.

The accident near Gillette stadium occurred approximately at 1:00 a.m. on December 11, after the Monday Night Football game. A car struck a 30-year-old male pedestrian in Foxborough. The pedestrian suffered a broken leg, cuts, and bruises. The police officer who discovered the victim had been working a detail at the Patriots game before discovering the man in the street in severe pain after a nearby witness notified police of the accident.

Another police officer working two miles away noticed an Infinity sedan with a broken rear-view mirror and a hole in the windshield and pulled the driver over on the suspicion he was the perpetrator. The driver had the smell of alcohol on his breath and was subsequently arrested for operating under the influence of alcohol, OUI with serious injury, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and fleeing the scene of a personal injury.

Pedestrians at risk

Pedestrian fatalities have risen from previous years. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data reveals that 4,280 pedestrians died in accidents with motor vehicles in 2010, the most recent year available. Over 70,000 pedestrians were injured in accidents with motor vehicles. Pedestrians include anyone on foot, whether moving or stationary, who was hit by a motor vehicle. Most pedestrian accidents occur outside of a crosswalk.

Nearly three-fourths of pedestrian accidents in 2010 occurred in urban or crowded settings such as the accident near Gillette stadium. Nearly 70 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred at night.

Negligent drivers

Many families attend Patriots games. Children are particularly susceptible to pedestrian accidents – 14,000 of the 70,000 pedestrians injured in 2010 were under 14-years-old. With the risk that large events are nearby and may include children comes a responsibility for nearby drivers to pay careful attention to the road and nearby individuals. When a driver does behave negligently, whether by driving distracted, operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol or speeding, any injured victims may be able to obtain compensation for their injuries or lost work time. In the event of an ultimate tragedy, the family of a lost loved one can recover on a wrongful death claim for the financial problems that may arise after such an accident.

Pedestrians injured in an accident with a car should contact a skilled Boston personal injury attorney to get what help they can when moving on from a painful accident.