Santa Cruz CHP conducting pedestrian safety enforcement operation

The California Highway Patrol is conducting a special operation this week focusing on pedestrian safety in Santa Cruz County.

According to the CHP, the operation will take place on Wednesday, April 25th, at multiple crosswalk locations in the county.

Officers will be looking for drivers and pedestrians who fail to yield the right-of-way or who take unsafe and illegal actions.

The CHP said since October of 2017, Santa Cruz County has had three deadly traffic crashes involving pedestrians. The most recent happened on February, 5, 2018 when a pedestrian was hit by a car on Soquel Drive.

The California Highway Patrol will be targeting heavily traveled crosswalks where there have been a high number of pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

Drivers and pedestrians caught breaking the rules will be given warnings or tickets.

This program is paid for by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.