Two pedestrians are hit and killed

By Staff Reports

Published: January 9, 2009

-- A man walking along U.S. 360 in Amelia County was struck and killed by a pickup truck Wednesday night.

Trooper T.G. Watson of the Virginia State Police said Rashmikant Dahyadhai Patel, 54, of Amelia was pronounced dead at the scene of the 6 p.m. crash.

The fatality occurred when a pickup truck traveling east on U.S. 360 struck Patel about two-tenths of a mile west of U.S. 360 Business, Watson said.

The pickup's driver has not been charged. The fatality remains under investigation.

Another pedestrian was killed in Harrisonburg on Tuesday, state police said.

Sherry Burcham Anderson, 55, was jogging north in the southbound lane of South Main Street when she was struck by a car 273 feet north of West Fairview Avenue at 5:20 a.m. Anderson, a Harrisonburg resident, died at the scene.

Their deaths brought Virginia's 2009 highway death toll to 13 yesterday, compared with 13 on the same date last year.

So far this year, there have been three pedestrian deaths, compared with two at the same time in 2008.