Family Of Elk Grove Boy Killed On Bike Calls For Change At 'Dangerous Intersection'
By Marissa Perlman October 19, 2020 at 7:09 pm
Filed Under:Elk Grove News
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — A teenager was killed Saturday in a crash while crossing a heavily-traveled road in Elk Grove.
A family member said the teen loved to ride his skateboard, scooter and bike. That's what he was doing Saturday when his life was cut short. They placed flowers at the intersection along Whitelock Parkway where he was hit. She says he had been warned about the intersection before.
"It was a constant thing with his dad, don't cross here, don't cross here," she said.
But on Saturday afternoon, traffic was moving quickly and the teen and his friend thought they could make it across safely. A driver clipped the back of his bike, throwing him 10 feet in the air and thirty feet away from where he was hit. Police say the pedestrian signal wasn't activated.
Now the family is calling for change.
In January, Elk Grove made a series of speed limit adjustments across the city, including Whitelock Parkway, changing the limit from 35 to 45 miles per hour. The move was based on a traffic study done in 2018 on the collision rate in the area.
But both family and neighbors say instead of 45, now drivers go 60 miles per hour. Neighbor Ronald Chan said, "From Bruceville to Bighorn, it's a straight drag race."
"Our main concern now is the crosswalk and making sure people stop when they see pedestrians," the teen's aunt said.
They worry, without change, this tragedy could happen again.
"He's not the first, and he's probably not going to be the last," she said.
The city says they made intersection improvements just recently, adding signalized buttons at the stoplight to increase safety.
The driver is cooperating with police, and the crash is still under investigation.
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