A man was struck and killed at a bus stop Thursday in Mountain View. (Video capture: Mountain View Patch)

Fatal pedestrian accident: Investigators have identified a man who was struck and killed by a speeding car while he waited at a bus stop Thursday in Mountain View.

•   A speeding car ran a red light and struck a man waiting in a bus shelter.

•   The car smashed the shelter and drug the victim into the road, then went up onto the lawn of an apartment building.

•   The victim died at the scene. The 21-year-old driver was hospitalized.

•   Police said drugs and alcohol do not appear to be involved.

Mountain View police spokesperson Jaime Garrett said the accident victim was 50-year-old William Ware of Mountain View, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

Garrett said the accident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. at California Street and Escuela Avenue.

Witnesses told the Mountain View Patch news site that a navy-blue Audi A4 appeared to be speeding when it ran a red light at the intersection. The Audi struck Ware — who was standing at the VTA bus stop on the south side of the intersection — and dragged him about 30 or 40 feet.

The impact smashed up the bus shelter, but did not stop the Audi. The car continued up onto the grounds of the Maplewood Apartment Community and came to a stop on the lawn, about 100 feet from the bus shelter.

Ware died at the scene.

The driver of the Audi,  a 21-year-old Mountain View man, was taken to a hospital to be treated for undisclosed injuries, according to an NBC News report. Police said he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Community members started a makeshift memorial on the bus bench as soon as word got out. In an article entitled, “Remembering William Ware,” people shared memories and announced details about Ware’s memorial service. He was remembered by bus drivers and people who worked at his favorite Peet’s coffee shop, as well as by neighbors and friends.

Pedestrian Fatality Statistics

More than 4,000 pedestrians are killed every year — 11 every day — after being struck by motor vehicles, according to the latest National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics. An additional 59,000 are seriously injured.

The latest NHTSA figures show that:

• 69 percent of pedestrians killed in 2009 were males.
• Almost three out of every four pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas (72 percent).
• The top four states for pedestrian fatalities are California, Florida, Texas, and New York. These four states make up 41 percent of pedestrian fatalities nationwide while only accounting for 5 percent of the total traffic fatalities across the country.
• Nearly one-half (48 percent) of all pedestrian fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — 70 percent occur at night (4 p.m. to 4 a.m.).

California Pedestrian Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented pedestrian accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.