A man killed along an unlit Golden Gate Estates road early Thursday morning was the fourth pedestrian fatality in Southwest Florida in one week.

Thomas W. Thompson's death highlights the ongoing need for pedestrians and drivers to make themselves visible, and to keep an eye out for one another.

"We don't have a huge problem," said Sgt. Chris Gonzalez, of the Collier County Sheriff's Office Safety Traffic Enforcement Bureau. "But still, one (death) is too many. It can be avoided."

Thompson, 54, was walking on the north side of White Boulevard near 31st Street Southwest around 5:45 a.m. when he was struck by a westbound 1998 Chrysler Sebring driven by Mathew B. V. Hamberger, 20, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Hamberger didn't see Thompson as he walked with his back to oncoming traffic, the report said. Thompson's body hit the car's windshield before tumbling to the pavement. He died at the scene.

The investigation shut down White Boulevard from Weber Boulevard to 31st Street Southwest during the morning rush hour, diverting traffic onto Golden Gate Boulevard for three hours.

Thompson's death comes on the heels of three Lee County pedestrians fatalities in February, and is the second in Collier this year.

Statewide, 499 pedestrians were killed in 2010 in Florida, which accounted for 22 percent of roadway deaths, according to the most recent data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. That figure was up slightly from 2009, when 482 people were struck and killed by vehicles.

In Collier, the number of pedestrian fatalities fluctuated between four and seven from 2006 to 2010.

In Lee, where four pedestrians have been killed by vehicles so far in 2012, that number ranged from 13 to 23 during the same period — a number that earned the county a dubious top-ten spot in the a nascent program by the Florida Department of Transportation.

This year, the agency will be assessing 10 Florida counties where pedestrian fatalities occur most frequently in an effort to reduce crashes. Other "hot-spots" include Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, and Hillsborough counties, according to Trenda McPherson, an FDOT traffic safety specialist working on the project.

In those counties, there will be "round-table discussions with everyone to see what's going on," McPherson said. "It's going to be talks between the state and the locals. Is it an infrastructure problem? Is it a behavioral problem? Do we need more crosswalks? More enforcement?"

Pedestrian behaviors like jaywalking, not wearing clothing that makes them visible, and drinking alcohol, can contribute to the crashes.

Alcohol was a factor on the part of the victim in 32 percent of pedestrian fatalities in 2010, according to state numbers. Drunk driving was less of a factor in pedestrian deaths, McPherson said.

The driver who struck Thompson Thursday was not under the influence, the FHP reported. Whether alcohol played a factor in Thompson's behavior remains under investigation. No arrests have been made and no charges filed.

The factors leading to pedestrian fatalities are numerous. In 2011, 49-year-old Stephen Duzick, of North Naples was holding a sign along the sidewalk of Pine Ridge Road when he was struck and killed. The driver, Etem Alajbegu, was later arrested on DUI charges.

On U.S. 41 East in late January, Ana Cruz Mendez, 54, of Naples, was killed while crossing U.S. 41 East near the Whistler's Cove Apartments. An FHP report said she ran into the path of a sport utility vehicle heading west toward the intersection with Southwest Boulevard.

The onus is on drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to see and be seen, said Michelle Avola, executive director of the Naples Pathways Coalition, a road safety advocacy group.

"What's seeming to happen is, we've got pedestrians who are not making the best choice of where they are crossing, we've got roads that just do not fit the needs of all the people who use them — cars, bikes, pedestrians," Avola said.

If there had been street lights or sidewalks on White Boulevard, a heavily used road by commuters from Golden Gate Estates, or if the victim had reflective clothing or a flashlight with him, the crash that killed Thompson might have been avoided, she said.

"This wouldn't have needed to happen today," Avola said.