Maya's Story


On a beautiful sunny day in May 2006, a pretty little four year old girl named Maya Hirsch spent a wonderful afternoon at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with her mother and her older brother, but when they left the zoo they did not all make it home.

Full Story

Pedestrian Safety Fact Sheet

Did you know…
  • Each year, approximately 630 child pedestrian fatalities occur
  • More than 6,000 pedestrians are hit in Illinois each year, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Those crashes resulted in more than 1,000 serious injuries and 170 fatalities a year. 
    • In 2008, 78 pedestrian fatalities occurred in Cook County. 
  • Children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian injuries because they are exposed to traffic threats that exceed their cognitive, developmental, behavioral, physical, and sensory abilities 
  • Children are at a higher risk of being injured or killed as pedestrians and are more likely to live in urban or high density areas 
  • Children ages 4 and under are at a greatest risk of traffic-related pedestrian injuries 
    • § Pedestrian injury is still the second leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5-14 
    • After-school hours and dusk remain the most dangerous times for child pedestrians, with 55 percent of fatal incidents occurring between 3pm and 7pm
Prevention
Teach children safe pedestrian behaviors by modeling safe behaviors: cross streets at corners, use traffic signals and crosswalks whenever possible, and make eye contact with drivers prior to crossing in front of them.

Please contact Safe Kids Chicago for childhood safety information or local injury prevention events.

Safe Kids Chicago
Led by: Children's Memorial Hospital
Coordinator: Andrea Garces
2300 Children's Plaza
P.O. Box 62, Chicago, Illinois 60614
773-880-4022 or at agarces@childrensmemorial.org

Source: Safe Kids USA www.safekids.org

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