NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — “Please drive safely and treat everyone like it’s your family member trying to get home,” Z Zaldivar said. 

That’s the message one East Nashville man is putting out after his husband was hit by a car Sunday night on Shelby Avenue.   

He said Jabari Patterson has a long road to recovery after both of his legs were broken.   

Jabari was crossing the cross walk on South 10th Street and Shelby Avenue when he was hit by a car.   

According to Metro police, the driver said he was turning left and was distracted by another pedestrian at the time.   

“I was at the grocery store picking something up for dinner. When I got the call he said, ‘I was just hit by a car,’” Zaldivar said.  

Zaldivar said he rushed to the scene and found his husband severely injured.   

“Both of his legs are fractured, and his right elbow is an exposed fracture. He has some cuts on his head that were stitched up last night.”  

Z said he and his husband don’t live far from the intersection, and East Nashville is a big walking community.   

“He lives in East Nashville because he can walk everywhere; he walks to work, he walks home, through five points,” Zaldivar said. 

This comes as Walk Bike Nashville reports an increase in pedestrian deaths. Within the last two weeks, two pedestrians were killed on Charlotte Pike.   

 “We are seeing a trend happening, and with it coming darker and darker in the winter months we are seeing an increase in pedestrian fatalities just in the last couple of weeks. We noticed with the holidays and traveling people are moving around our city in a more hurried way,” Cathy Carrillo of Walk Bike Nashville said. 

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Davidson County has seen over 30 pedestrian deaths in 2022.   

However, Z said thankfully his husband is not part of that statistic.   

“I was hoping it was a joke, but then when I saw him lying on the ground I realized it wasn’t a joke and I realized how quickly he could have been taken away from me,” Zaldivar said. 

Z said thankfully there were people nearby that got Jabari out of the road and stayed with him until emergency services arrived. He underwent surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Monday morning.

Metro police told News 2 that the driver did give a report to the police about the incident. No citations have been made at this time.