tragedy<\/a> nearby. Less than a mile west of the site, two older women were struck \u2014 one fatally \u2014 in the Boscov\u2019s East parking lot on Feb. 16.<\/p>\nBentz said the driver was turning left from the end of an aisle when he hit both women as they crossed the main travel lane. After consulting with the Berks County district attorney\u2019s office, police decided not to charge the driver, who told investigators that he did not see them.<\/p>\n
The crash, Bentz said, illustrates why motorists must always expect the unexpected, especially in residential areas and shopping centers where children may dart into the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep your head on a swivel, be ready to stop,\u201d he said. \u201cThe same is true for parents \u2014 keep an eye on those kids and maybe put them in a safer place to play so they won\u2019t go out into traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentz also reminded drivers of the upcoming Paul Miller distracted\u2011driving law, which will prohibit motorists from holding a cellphone while driving. Enforcement begins June 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the phone\u2019s in your hand, you\u2019re in violation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pedestrians must also remain vigilant, Bentz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook left, right, left before crossing,\u201d he said. \u201cEven in marked crosswalks, people should make sure it\u2019s safe before stepping off the curb.\u201d<\/p>\n
He advised against wearing earbuds in both ears, which can prevent walkers, runners and bicyclists from hearing approaching vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cHearing a car coming is just as important as seeing a car coming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Once a pedestrian enters the roadway, motorists are required to yield until the person is completely across \u2014 not just past the front of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Decoy operation quickly yields results<\/p>\n
After speaking with reporters, officers deployed a trained pedestrian decoy \u2014 PennDOT\u2019s Brown \u2014 to monitor whether drivers yielded at the crosswalk along the DeMoss Road entrance to Exeter Commons.<\/p>\n
On Brown\u2019s first attempt, a driver stopped.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/REG-L-ExeterPedestrianSafety359_copy.jpg\")
A vehicle stops for pedestrian Sean Brown, safety press officer for PennDOT District 5, during an Exeter Police Department pedestrian safety enforcement operation at DeMoss Road at Exeter Commons on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a win,\u201d Bentz said. \u201cThey\u2019re doing what they\u2019re supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moments later, another driver tried to squeeze past Brown within a few feet of him. An officer stationed nearby witnessed the violation and initiated a traffic stop. Depending on the circumstances, Bentz said, violations could result in warnings or citations.<\/p>\n
He added that many neighborhoods lack painted crosswalks, but the law still applies.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if a crosswalk isn\u2019t marked, it\u2019s still a crosswalk by definition,\u201d he said. \u201cThe law still applies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Six pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents last year in Berks County, a figure that mirrors the county\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,202,1411,182,139,28,128,130,129,706,2155],"class_list":["post-186423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-exeter-township","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/REG-L-ExeterPedestrianSafety358_copy.jpg\")
The driver of a car fails to yield to a pedestrian, PennDOT District 5 Safety Press Officer Sean Brown, during a pedestrian enforcement operation by Exeter Township police at the DeMoss Road entrance of Exeter Commons on Thursday, May 7, 2026. A police officer in a nearby patrol vehicle stopped the car a short distance away. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n