Residents Troubled By Dangerous Crosswalk After Mother & Child Struck
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A traffic fatality in Dallas' Five Points neighborhood underscores the delicate balance between cars and foot traffic there. It occurred about 8:00 pm Monday at the intersection of Pineland and Fair Oaks Avenues.
Police tell us seven-year-old Ning Et and her mother were crossing the street with the light... when they were run down in the crosswalk. The Hodgkiss First Grader died on the street. Counselors were at her school today to help classmates who wanted to talk.
Sherica Mayfield is a neighbor who says the crosswalk death is a situation that troubles her with her own kids. "Hold my baby's hands and make sure I have their attention because they're (drivers) very rapid around here. It's sad."
Mayfield worries the victim may be friend of one of her sons. "Hopefully not. We've been living in this neighborhood for a long time and I'm hoping it's not a friend of his."
Councilmember Jennifer Staubach-Gates represents the area. "It is the one part of my district that you do see pedestrians out - morning, evening, night - really 24 hours a day people are walking," she tells CBS 11 News.
She recently convinced local and federal agencies to conduct a Road Safety Audit for what's called the Five Points area, of which Fair Oaks Avenue is a part. Mostly they were looking at deficiencies in curbs, sidewalks, and lighting... while those not an issue in last night's death she believes there are steps that can be taken. "On this corner, we can look at re-striping and we can make sure the signal lights are functioning properly, but I think in this incident it really was an accident," she said.
She adds traffic studies could still be done to see if speed limits need adjusting in this densely populated part of Dallas. "Of all my district - all 29 square miles, really - this is the most highly-pedestrian used area and I want to see it pedestrian-friendly."
Police tell us they don't believe alcohol was an issue here and they did not arrest the driver. The case will be a grand jury referral as criminal negligent homicide.
The girls mother is in stable condition at a local hospital. They're not releasing her name, as she's now a witness in the death.
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