Baltimore street safety advocates "demanding change" after recent deaths

The Baltimore group Families for Safer Streets says both the city and state roadways have design challenges, and it's time to make the roads safer. 

Advocates for safer streets say more needs to be done, as we are in the middle of the "100 Deadliest Days," which is nationally recognized by safety organizations as the most dangerous time of the year for drivers.

There have been 12 deadly crashes on Maryland roads within the past seven days. There have been more than 200 roadway fatalities in the state in 2026.

"We are heartbroken. We are angry. We are demanding change," said Amril Hamer, with Baltimore Families for Safer Streets.

Mourning victims of deadly road incidents

Families for Safer Streets pushed for Baltimore leaders to make city roads safer in the aftermath of two deadly crashes in the past month.

"We are here tonight to tell our city leaders that dangerous streets are a choice, and that is a choice Baltimore City can no longer afford to make," Hamer said.

City leaders and the group from Families for Safer Streets mourned two lives lost this past month. Police said 3-year-old Jordan Bright was killed in a hit-and-run crash by a 14-year-old driving in a stolen car.

Morgan State student Brandon McMurrin was hit and killed by a car while walking home from work last month.

"Two lives cut devastatingly short by preventable traffic violence in our city streets," Hamer said.

McMurrin's cousin said they were raised together, so he was more like a brother. He hasn't recovered from the loss.

"I never would've expected this to happen, but the way our roads are designed, the way people drive on the roads is negligent," the cousin said.

Baltimore City Councilman Jermaine Jones said he wants to take the pain from families and turn it into progress for the city.

"But today should be a moment for us to highlight things that needed to happen yesterday," Jones said. "While we can't move as quickly or as often as we'd like to, we need to move as quickly as we can, and ought to prioritize what we know by the data are the least safe."

Call to Baltimore leaders to make changes

Families for Safer Streets is calling on city leaders to make changes to the roads by making them more accessible for walkers, scooters, and bikers.

There have been 216 roadway fatalities in 2026, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation website. Nineteen of those have involved young drivers, 44 have involved pedestrians, and 65 have been due to impaired drivers.

Early Tuesday morning, an 18-year-old girl, Kaylee Hottle, an Atlanta-born actress known for her role in the "Godzilla" film franchise, died in a crash in Frederick County. The driver of the vehicle was a 19-year-old Frederick man who traveled off the right side of the two-lane road and struck a culvert.

During the "100 Deadliest Days," which spans from June through August, there have already been 63 fatalities in Maryland. There have been four in Baltimore City this summer.

Chrissy Nizer, with the Maryland DOT, said fatalities have decreased the past two years across the state, but it's not enough.

"We are glad that Maryland has experienced a reduction in highway fatalities two years in a row, but the only way we get zero, which is the ultimate goal, is we all have a role to play, all have a responsibility to help everybody get home safe, and that is the ultimate goal," Nizer said.