Parents, Neighbors Demand Action After 2 Deaths
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A call to action, as the father of a five-year-old girl run over on a suburban street stands with the community demanding safety improvements.
Neighbors held a moment of silence for Debra Lemmer, a nurse from Sinai Hospital and Delaney Gaddis, her granddaughter, after a drunk driver killed them in Baltimore County more than two weeks ago. Brian Gaddis is Delaney's dad.
"I want to be an advocate. This tragedy doesn't just happen, especially there. When I got the phone call it changed my life forever. My life will never be the same because of this." Gaddis said.
He showed up to support those who lived in Timonium, who have been demanding changes to what they say is a dangerous stretch of road. 5,000 cars a day passing through a quiet subdivision.
Despite speed bumps and other measures to slow down traffic over the past decade, there has been 35 accidents in the past three years alone, and people here refuse to take excuses from officials that there isn't enough money to make things safer.
"I couldn't bear another accident like that, my family couldn't, my neighbors couldn't, something has to be done. " Joe Hartnett, a concerned neighbor said.
"We can't just be reactionary and throw something out there that might get somebody hurt." Keith Link with Baltimore County said.
And while Brian Gaddis will never get his loved ones back, he hopes county leaders will take action so no one suffers like he has.
"It happened to me, so it could happen to anybody. So my message is hold your kids close, give them that extra hug or kiss because you never know." Gaddis said.
The woman charged in this case was on probation at the time for another DUI and had a hit-and-run and according to court records she was not supposed to drink or have any drugs.
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