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Police use social media to warn people against jaywalking, impaired driving

Posted at 5:29 PM, Jul 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-23 07:14:44-04

The Las Vegas police department is using social media to drive home a message of safety after several fatal incidents involving pedestrians and impaired drivers.

The police department has been posting videos on Facebook and Twitter giving out tips and explaining important traffic laws. But how effective is this campaign?

"This is where my boyfriend and I were hit 5 and a half years ago."

It was an incident that changed Ann Marie Ricci's life and killed her boyfriend Jesse Hill. The culprit? An impaired driver.

So every time Anne Marie sees another life is lost because of carelessness on the road, it breaks her heart.

"It keeps happening and it shouldn't have to... People go on social media every day so i think it'll open up their eyes."

In the most recent video, police are pleading people to stop jaywalking after a pedestrian was killed near Sahara and Maryland Parkway.

That's where 13 Action News met with Erin Breen of UNLV's Vulnerable Road User's Project. She thinks the new social media campaign is a good idea to reach more people.

"Nobody ever thinks that they're going to be a statistic. and that's what needs to change."

So far, we've had 33 pedestrians die on our streets this year despite many community outreach and multi-platform campaigns to raise awareness.

Erin says this time, multiple agencies like NDOT and local officials are working to build more crosswalks, lower the speed limit or put up better lighting on the streets.

"What we're going to see is some more innovative stuff within the engineering community."