Nine defenseless pedestrians — including one in a wheelchair — were hit in one day last week — the same day Mayor Martin J. Walsh promised safer streets for everyone.

The Tuesday, Jan. 17, spike in pedestrian injuries marked an 18-month high in America’s Walking City that has some fearing Boston is losing ground in the battle for safe streets. It was the worst day for pedestrian injuries since at least June 2015, a Herald analysis shows, and comes as the harrowing accidents are on the rise.

It was also that same day Walsh delivered his State of the City address, noting that his Vision Zero task force has set a goal to eliminate pedestrian fatalities by 2030.

“In a city on the move, the streets should work for everyone,” Walsh said that night. “Our Vision Zero safety plan aims to end fatalities on our roads.”

All told, 904 pedestrians were injured in crashes in 2016, city data show, a 15 percent jump from the 789 pedestrians hurt in crashes the year before. Pedestrian fatalities also jumped to 12 last year from nine in 2015.

Injuries ranged from people refusing treatment for minor scrapes and bruises to one man — the victim of a hit-and-run in Dorchester — lying unresponsive in the road “with a pool of blood forming by his head,” police report.

Mira Desai was one of the first to encounter that man after she heard a loud crash and ran to the front of Big City Chiropractic on Dorchester Avenue at 7:01 p.m. on Jan. 17.

“I saw the man curled up there, just on the floor, backpack a little ways away from him, and some lady across the street basically just trying to stop the cars that were still continuing to come down the street,” Desai said. “On Dorchester Avenue, they just speed down there.”

It was one of the more graphic scenes that played out eight other times a week ago Tuesday.

At 6:40 p.m., a person wearing headphones crossed Melnea Cass Boulevard and was hit by a car, smashing its windshield, according to a police report.

At 7:07 p.m. in Brighton, a wheelchair-bound man crossing Commonwealth Avenue was struck by a car making a right-hand turn from Chestnut Hill Avenue, pinning the man between his wheelchair and the vehicle.

At 7:23 p.m., a man crossing Western Avenue in Brighton was smacked by a car and bloodied as he turned back to lock his Jeep with a key fob — the impact shattering the car’s windshield.

While rain and low visibility likely contributed to the Jan. 17 carnage, the spike in pedestrian fatalities and injuries is most likely tied to more people on the road — a result of low gas prices and higher employment rates, experts told the Herald.

Boston is redesigning roadways and, most recently, lowering the default speed limit to 25 mph from 30 mph. Yesterday, the city invited neighborhoods to apply to have traffic calming measures installed, including signage, pavement markers and speed bumps.

Others say the city hasn’t taken on large projects to remake roadways — and worse, City Hall lacks the funding and human resources to do so.

“It’s a small staff in the planning department with these large tasks ahead of them and these wonderful, audacious goals that are bold and would make the city a better, livable place, but I don’t think they have the staff or the funding to implement these things,” said Brendan Kearney, of WalkBoston, a member of the city’s Vision Zero task force.

Walsh brushed off concerns that the city transportation department can’t pull its weight, instead highlighting the lower speed limit and an initiative to add more lane markings for cars and bikes.

“Part of it is understanding your surroundings, both on people driving and people walking,” Walsh added. “Pedestrians have to be careful. … It’s concerning to all of us the numbers are rising.”

One day’s walking wounded

A slick Jan. 17 left nine pedestrians clipped by cars, with some suffering serious injuries. Here’s how the police reports told the tale of walkers wounded on Jan. 17:

9:36 a.m. — A pedestrian is hit in the South End in a McDonald’s parking lot on Massachusetts Avenue. The man was taken to the hospital for “leg pain.”

4:44 p.m. — A walker who ran past a parked car was hit by another car’s side mirror in Dorchester, at Eldon and Washington streets.

6:20 p.m. — A driver slammed on the brakes but couldn’t stop in time, hitting a pedestrian in Jamaica Plain on Centre Street. The impact smashed the car’s windshield. The victim went to Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

6:40 p.m. — While crossing Columbus Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury, a walker with headphones on was hit. The impact smashed the vehicle’s windshield. The victim refused treatment.

7:02 p.m. — A hit-and-run in Dorchester, on Dorchester Avenue at Tilman Street, left a pedestrian lying in the road “bleeding with a pool of blood forming around his head.”

7:07 p.m. — A wheelchair-bound pedestrian hit by a car in Brighton, at Chestnut Hill Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue. The wheelchair was spun around, “knocking victim to ground, pinned between wheelchair and the vehicle.” He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

7:23 p.m. — A male victim crossing Western Avenue in Brighton, walking back to lock the door on a Jeep, was hit by a Toyota Camry. The victim had a gash to his shoulder and neck, and lost consciousness. He was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The impact shattered the Camry’s windshield.

7:45 p.m. — An out-of-town driver looking for a hotel after dropping a friend at Children’s Hospital hit a pedestrian crossing with a crossing light on Longwood Avenue. Bystanders helped the victim up, who complained of pain to the knee and face.

9:04 p.m. — A pedestrian was hit in Hyde Park along Hyde Park Avenue and West Street. The victim was crossing and did not see the car. The victim suffered lower leg pain.