Anna Baron will never forget the shock she felt when her husband told her their 14-year-old daughter had been hit by a vehicle.

The teen had been bicycling past the entrance of Coxhall Gardens in Carmel when a car turning out of the park onto Towne Road grazed her leg. Thankfully, her injuries were minor.

“I think the trauma of (the experience) was more impactful than the actual hit of the car,” Baron said.

In the last several months, two other people in Baron’s circles have been struck by vehicles while bicycling in west Carmel. Both went to the hospital but did not have life-threatening injuries, she said. And in May, an 85-year-old bicyclist was killed at the nearby intersection of Towne Road and Main Street after being hit by a vehicle.

Incidents between vehicles and bikes and pedestrians typically increase in warmer weather, according to D.J. Schoeff, deputy chief of administration for the Carmel Police Department. He said there have been similar accidents throughout Carmel this year and that they have not been clustered in a single area.

“The weather is nicer, and people are maybe being less attentive,” he said.

Some of the busiest pedestrian areas also tend to be some of the safest, Schoeff said, such as the Monon Crossing at Main Street in the Arts & Design District.

“That’s an area where people are very mindful and paying close attention,” Schoeff said. “If we use that same philosophy at all of those other areas, we’re creating a safer opportunity. So, our heaviest (pedestrian) area, oddly enough, is not seeming to be a problem. It’s these outskirt areas where people might be a little bit more complacent.”

Schoeff said it’s important for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to take responsibility for protecting each other.

“It’s easy for motorists to try to point the finger at cyclists, or cyclists to point the finger at motorists,” Schoeff said. “We all need to take it under our responsibility to be mindful of what’s around us and use caution, whether we’re on a bike or in a car.”

Baron is urging drivers to be patient and make sure they are fully aware of their surroundings.

“There definitely needs to be a little bit of an alarm for people,” she said. “Just take a stop and a breather, and drive a little slower. Enjoy the summer without having any more accidents.”