Five Points crosswalk lawsuit puts new safety project under scrutiny. What to know

A University of South Carolina student hit by a car at a newly redesigned Harden Street crosswalk is suing the city and state, putting a $5 million pedestrian safety project under legal scrutiny. The case highlights ongoing concerns about Five Points, long known as one of South Carolina’s most dangerous areas for people on foot.

Here are key takeaways:

• Maya Trowbridge suffered multiple fractures after a driver struck her in a mid-block crosswalk on Harden Street outside Eddie’s Calzones on Oct. 31, 2025, as she and a friend crossed after another vehicle waved them through.
• A 2019 study found the Five Points stretch of Harden Street was the most dangerous roadway in South Carolina for pedestrians, recording 232 crashes and 27 injuries between 2013 and 2018.
• The state completed a $5 million safety overhaul in July 2025 that reduced lanes and added mid-block signalized crosswalks requiring pedestrians to press a button to activate warning lights for drivers.
• SCDOT is asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing Trowbridge was reckless for failing to activate the caution lights before stepping into the crosswalk.
• Trowbridge’s attorney Drew Richardson counters that drivers on Harden Street “would not have anticipated that a crosswalk would have been located at an area other than [at] a vehicular intersection,” raising questions about whether the pedestrian-activated system creates a hazardous condition for those unaware they must press a button.
• Ron Vinson was arrested Nov. 1 and charged with hit-and-run and failing to yield to a pedestrian, though his attorney Todd Rutherford says Vinson stopped to offer aid, and could not swerve because of the new median recently installed along Harden Street.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.