A pedestrian is struck by a vehicle once a day in Indianapolis, on average, and we found drivers that aren't always following the rules of the road.

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - It's a terrifying experience. One minute you're fine. The next you're in the back of an ambulance. And, it could happen to any of us.

Nabeela Virjee knows.

The Indianapolis woman's life took a dramatic turn doing something many of us do every single day.

"I go back and look at the photos of what I looked like...and I'm shocked by that," she said.

Shocked at how bad she looks - her face swollen, bruised and scratched up - shocked at how extensive her injuries were.

Pointing to her face, she says, "this orbital bone was broken...They put a mesh titanium plate under my eye...I have a broken cheekbone, this bone above my lip underneath my nose was broken...and four of my teeth were knocked out, these bottom teeth were concussed."

Fortunately, Nabeela didn't suffer brain damage or internal injuries. But the Indianapolis city attorney spent a month recovering and working from home.

"I don't like that there's nerve damage and that I can't smile properly, but I mean, I'm still here," she said.

It all began with a desire to become more active and healthy.

"I told myself it's only a mile to work," she said. "There's no reason I can't walk or ride my bike to work."

So early this year, Nabeela began walking from her near northside home to her job at the City-County Building. She said the morning of June 1 was like any other.

"I remember walking down Delaware and getting to the to the stop at St. Clair," where she decided to cross Delaware at the crosswalk.

"The last thing I remember is seeing the walk sign and starting to walk into the intersection," she said. "The last thing I expected was the walk sign would be ignored by the driver."

The truck headed east on St Clair, turned north on Delaware, hitting Neebla from behind. She never saw it coming. When she came to, she was in the back of an ambulance.

"I'm not angry," she said. "I just...obviously I wish he was paying attention and slowing down. I have no idea to believe it was anything other than an accident."

What happened to Nabeela happens more often than you may think. On average one pedestrian is hit by a car every single day in Marion County. More than a dozen pedestrians die each year and in 2015, that number spiked to 30.

For Nabeela, the scars aren't just physical, but emotional.



"Hearing the noise of cars coming up behind me...it's like I get crippling anxiety and it's hard for me to walk across the street and I used to think that people made up that type of injury and it wasn't really a big deal but now having lived through it... it's really hard," she said choking up.

Six weeks later, Nabeela is doing much better. She still needs more surgery, but is back at the office. She hasn't, however, been back at the crosswalk or tried walking to work again. She said she's still too traumatized.

Nabeela did everything right. She crossed at a marked intersection. She had the right of way and she was still hit.

It made us wonder just how many drivers know the rules and actually follow them, especially given how Indianapolis has strived to become more pedestrian-friendly.

In 2012, we stationed volunteers at five crosswalks across the city to see how many drivers followed the rules. We were surprised at what we saw.

Our volunteers told us, "some stop, some slow down, it just depends" and "I'm keeping my eyes open, it's crazy out there."

Indiana law says drivers must yield to pedestrians a crosswalk with a green light, but many did not. At one intersection we watched several vehicles turn into the crosswalk, just a few feet in front of those crossing.

"They think if they have the green light, they can go," one volunteer said.

Five years later we returned to one of the crosswalks expecting to see greater compliance, but it seems not much has changed.

The crosswalk is on New York between Meridian and Illinois streets. It's clearly marked with two neon signs and flashing lights on both sides of the street.

One man said, "they stop usually if they see us in the street," but he said not if you're starting to cross.

Asked how often drivers respect the crosswalks lights, another man said, "they don't...they just keep going."

As we watched people trying to cross, some vehicles did stop or slow down, but others barreled by, including IndyGo bus.

A woman who crosses daily said, "I think they're in a hurry. They're just trying to get out and get going."

To be fair, It is a two-way street. Pedestrians don't always follow the rules, either. We caught several distracted, some crossing against the light or crossing in the middle of the street, jaywalking, which is technically illegal, but seldom, if ever, enforced.

One woman we saw who didn't for the walk signal to cross a busy downtown intersection said "and people yell at you for that, too. As a pedestrian, I cut corners and I'm sure drivers do, too. As long as we're courteous of each other, it doesn't bother me."

In most cases, pedestrians have the right of way at all intersections and crosswalks, marked or not. It's also illegal for drivers to block a crosswalk forcing pedestrians to go around it.

As for pedestrians, if you're crossing anywhere outside an intersection or crosswalk, it's you who has to yield to traffic. And you should never start crossing a street until you can do so safely.