Chapel Hill police identify 77-year-old pedestrian killed on MLK Jr. Boulevard

Chapel Hill police have identified a pedestrian killed by a car Thursday night in northern Chapel Hill.

John Arthur Holman, 77, of Chapel Hill was fatally struck on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Perkins Drive and the Chapel Hill North shopping center.

Holman was hit before 9:40 p.m. and died at the scene, according to a town news release.

The driver of the vehicle, whose name also has not been released, stayed until police arrived, the release stated.

Northbound Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was closed between Weaver Dairy Road and Perkins Drive while police were on the scene.

The investigation is continuing, police said.

Vision Zero resolution

The Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a Vision Zero resolution in 2021, “a global strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all,” the town’s website states.

According to the town’s 2021 crash report, the most recent report posted:

▪ 80% of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths and injuries from 2017-21 were on streets with speed limits of 35 mph.

▪ Two-thirds of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists in those years occurred on 19% of the town’s streets.

▪ 40% of pedestrian and bicyclist crash victims are non-white, although just 27% of the town’s population identifies as non-white.

Last year, there were 37 crashes in Chapel Hill, according to the Vision Zero Dashboard. One person died and two were seriously injured.

This story was originally published May 12, 2023 at 7:29 AM.