Lakewood Police are hoping to crack down on an alarming increase of pedestrian accidents. Chief Robert Lawson says "yes, I'm very concerned about them and it is a high priority

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issue with us based on the number that we've had and the seriousness of the consequences. We've had pedestrians seriously injured and even killed in these accidents."

He attributes the increase in accidents to pedestrian inattention or failure to use the crosswalks and drivers violating the state's yield to pedestrians law.

When asked if he's surprised about the number of motorist who violate the state's law regarding pedestrians. Lawson simply says "No, because I see it everyday. It's not uncommon for me to stop for a pedestrian crossing the street and a car from behind me, will go around me and a few times almost hit the pedestrian. Of course, I'll then stop the car and they'll get a lecture and education from me."

Lawson says as part of pedestrian safety details, Police have served as decoys and handed out over 1-thousand warnings to violators. "We've done three different details in education. We'll probably do one more and then we'll focus on enforcement."

He adds, "we're not looking to blanket the town with tickets, we want to get the message through to motorist that it's not only their obligation to yield but to come to a stop and let pedestrians who have stepped off the curb ... cross the street."

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