As the air temperatures cool and the leaves turn, residents across Ohio are busy preparing for the impending winter. For many Ohioans, one fall ritual involves the raking and bagging of leaves. For one Ohio man, what began as an afternoon spent raking leaves and readily his yard for winter, quickly turned into a tragedy.

Around 2:30 p.m. police report that the driver of a van traveling through a Youngstown residential neighborhood appeared to lose control of the vehicle. The van then left the roadway and hit a man who was working in his yard nearby raking leaves.

Sadly, the man's injuries proved to be severe and he was pronounced dead at the accident scene. Police are continuing to investigate this fatal pedestrian accident to determine what factors may have contributed to the driver of the van losing control of the vehicle and hitting the man.

It's possible that the driver of the van was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when the accident occurred. It's also possible that the driver was distracted and failed to realize that he or she had left the roadway until it was too late. Regardless, it's undisputable that, in this case, the driver of the van is negligent in directly causing the man to suffer fatal injuries.

Motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians are among some of the most serious of all accidents. Even in cases where an individual is able to walk away from a car and pedestrian accident seemingly unscathed; they may have suffered injuries to soft tissue, joints and internal organs. Likewise, concussions and head injuries are commonly experienced by those impacted in pedestrian accidents.

Source: WFMJ, "Youngstown man killed after being hit by a car while doing yard work," Chelsea Telega, Oct. 29, 2013