Fatal accident in Kingsland claims life of 1 pedestrian

On March 31st, at 10:12 p.m. there was a one-vehicle crash that involved two pedestrians at the intersection of State Road 40 and May Creek Street in Kingsland.

According to the official State of Georgia Traffic Crash Report, a 1999 Ford Explorer driven by Valda Everett of Kingsland was in the outer eastbound lane of State Road 40. At that time, the two pedestrians, Eveline and Lionel Douchet of New Brunswick Canada were attempting to cross the highway.

The right front of the vehicle struck the two pedestrians. The report states that the couple was using the crosswalk and made note that the particular crosswalk was dimly lit. Everett had a green light and when he looked down from the light, he hit his brakes when he saw the couple, leaving 39 feet and 11 inches of skid marks in the right lane. The car came to a complete rest 136 feet from the point of impact, and Everett and a witness both proceeded to check on the pedestrians.

According to the report, the driver stated the following-

” I was looking at the light it was green then I looked down saw two people out of nowhere then impact then pulled on side and checked them out”.

Mr. Lionel Douchet, 73, died on-scene from injuries sustained from the collision, while his wife, Eveline, 71,  was listed on the report as having an incapacitating, non-fatal injury and was taken by EMS to UF Shands.

There was no alcohol test run on Mr. Everett and the report states that he was not distracted and that there was no contributing action on his part in regards to the accident. No injuries were reported for Everett.  The report lists the accident as being caused by the pedestrians failure to yield the right-of-way.

Additionally, the report states that there was roadway lighting on the north shoulder of State Route 40, but no lighting on the south shoulder.