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LONGMONT, Colo. – Parents are calling for change after two Longmont students were injured in separate auto-pedestrian crashes this week.
The first one happened Wednesday near 3rd & Lashley.
Police say a 15-year-old boy was in the crosswalk when he was struck by a turning vehicle. The driver was issued a ticket.
A day later, a girl, about the same age, was struck while walking eastbound along Mountain View near Skyline High School.
Police say her injuries were much more severe.
“I think this should be a real eye-opener for people in the community to make a change,” said Orie Forrest, a friend of the victim. “It’s the second accident this week, and it’s children, and it shouldn’t be that way.”
Forrest said she tries to avoid the intersection, “because it is very scary.”
Her mom, Shawna, agrees.
“That intersection is dangerous,” she said, adding that her biggest fear is that “the next accident could be fatal.”
She wants the school district to post crossing guards at the intersection, or the city to install a traffic light or make it a four-way stop.
High Crash Location
Longmont Transportation Engineering Administrator Tyler Stamey said more pedestrians cross through the Mountain View - Alpine intersection than any other intersection in the city.
He said a recent crash study identified it as a “high crash” location that has logged 39 crashes, of all types, over the last five years.
Stamey said the city will evaluate traffic volume and pedestrian counts and will then identify patterns and work on a solution.
Skyline sophomore Jesse Valdespino believes a solution is needed now.
“It’s crazy and it’s really hectic, especially during lunch rush here or after school and during the morning,” he said.
Orie Forrest agrees.
“It’s really awful,” she said, “especially with the sun (glare) in the morning. It’s just all around bad.”
Victim’s Family Statement
The mother of the injured girl, Andrea DeHerrera, sent a statement to Denver7 via Children’s Hospital saying, “Thanks for bringing attention to this dangerous intersection. Something needs to be done to make it safer.”
