San Jose Wheelchair-Bound Pedestrian Dies After Being Hit By Car Last Year
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- San Jose Police announced Thursday that a wheelchair-bound pedestrian who died after being hit by a car one year ago was counted as a traffic fatality this year.
The victim, who the Santa Clara County Coroner's office identified as 68-year-old San Jose resident Donald Trozzo, died on July 23. An autopsy revealed that the victim died from injuries sustained during a car accident on Sept. 22, 2020.
"On September 22, 2021, our Traffic Investigations Unit received notification from the Medical Examiner that the victim's cause of death was due primarily to injuries sustained in the collision. Although this collision occurred in 2020, the victim was pronounced deceased this year. This fatality is being added to this year's totals," a statement from San Jose Police read.
The victim's death is now considered the 45th fatal collision and the 46th victim of 2021. It is also the 19th pedestrian death of the year.
The incident that hospitalized the victim occurred on the morning of Sept. 22, 2020 near the intersection of Parkmoor and Meridian avenues.
"It was determined that the pedestrian entered the crosswalk while the 'walk' signal was displayed. For unknown reasons the wheelchair was moving at a slow pace," said the police report. "The traffic light signal turned from red to green for northbound vehicular traffic on Meridian Avenue while the wheelchair was still in the crosswalk. A Toyota Prius was traveling northbound on Meridian Avenue when it struck the pedestrian in the wheelchair."
First responders transported the victim to a nearby hospital, where he remained until he died from his serious injuries. The driver, who police did not identify, has been cooperating with the investigation, according to police.
Anyone with information on this investigation is urged to contact Detective Bowen #4461 of the San José Police Department's Traffic Investigations Unit at 408-277-4654.
