Distracting cell phones and too much alcohol are being blamed for an increase in pedestrians being mowed down by moving vehicles across North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Charlotte Observer reports (http://bit.ly/2oCmY3K ) that U.S. pedestrian deaths grew at a faster rate last year than at any other time in the past 40 years. A new study by the Governors Highway Safety Association estimates that the number of pedestrians killed last year increased by 11 percent over 2015.

The nonprofit association for state highway safety offices says North Carolina had a nearly 25 percent increase in the first half of last year. South Carolina had a 16 percent increase.

The report says alcohol use by the driver or pedestrian was reported in about half of all pedestrian deaths in 2015.