A 65-year-old Wilmington man has died after being struck by a vehicle while trying to cross North Kerr Avenue near Market Street just before midnight, at an intersection with a long history of serious crashes. Clifford Smith was hospitalized with injuries from the collision and later died, with the medical examiner’s office notifying police on August 30 that he had succumbed to his injuries.
According to a Wilmington Police Department news release, Smith was attempting to cross North Kerr Avenue from east to west shortly before midnight on August 19 when he entered the roadway without activating the pedestrian crossing signal. At the time, a green left-turn arrow was active, allowing vehicles traveling from Market Street to turn left onto North Kerr Avenue, according to Port City Daily. Wilmington police officers had responded to the intersection for a vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision just before midnight that night.
The department’s traffic unit determined the driver involved will not face charges. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 20-172 and § 20-174, pedestrians are legally required to obey pedestrian control signals and yield the right-of-way to oncoming vehicular traffic when crossing outside of active pedestrian signals or marked crosswalks, according to Connect NCDOT guidance on the statutes. Investigators appear to have cleared the driver on that legal basis, since Smith had entered the roadway without the signal activated.
A Notoriously Dangerous Junction
The corner where Smith was hit is not an anonymous stretch of roadway. Data compiled by personal injury firm Meirowitz & Wasserberg shows the intersection of Kerr Avenue and Market Street ranks among the highest-crash intersections in Wilmington, logging 176 vehicular collisions in recent multi-year records prior to 2024. That crash volume places the junction squarely within a pattern local planners have flagged for years…