Safety experts: Pedestrians, drivers at risk on Halloween

Cellphones, distractions added threats on a busy night

SAN ANTONIO – Halloween is considered one of the nation's deadliest nights of the year for pedestrians and drivers, according to Consumer Reports.

However, San Antonio has been spared over at least the past two years.

Officer Alisia Pruneda, a San Antonio Police Department spokeswoman, said there were no traffic fatalities in 2017 and 2018 despite the thousands of children making the rounds on Halloween night. She said cellphones and other handheld devices, however, still put others at risk.

"If you're looking down, you're not going to be looking up at the road. Or (drivers) think, 'If I just angle my device, I can keep one eye on the road,'" Pruneda said. "It just doesn't work that way."

She said the same applies to pedestrians on their phones.

"Your head is looking down, and if your head's not up, you're more likely to have a dangerous situation upon you and not be able to react to it, as well," Pruneda said.

Pruneda urges caution by drivers, children and their parents to avoid tragedy.

Click here for more Halloween safety tips

"You can't take back time," Pruneda said. "Once it's happened, it's gone."

Halloween Safety

Mandy Fultz, Injury Prevention Coordinator with Safe Kids San Antonio, shares a few important tips to ensure a trick-free treat this Halloween.

Posted by University Health System on Tuesday, October 29, 2019

About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.