On Aug. 6, two New Haven’s Hope Child Development Center students were struck by a motorist while crossing the busy Howard and First intersection. Now city officials plan to install a raised crosswalk there to ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen again.
The school that the kids attended apparently didn’t have a playground of its own, so teachers routinely walked them down the street to a nearby park so that they could play outdoors. It’s on their way back to the school that they were struck by a motorist. That intersection doesn’t have any traffic signals present.
Surveillance footage in the area shows the kids entering the intersection long before the motorist approached it in her car. Although the children that were struck didn’t suffer any lasting physical injuries, their parents say that they’ve definitively been left with emotional ones. They say that they’re struggling with trauma and stress.
The motorist who is alleged to have caused the crash wasn’t cited for reckless driving for her role in causing the crash, much to the school administrator and parents’ dismay. Instead, she received a $92 ticket for some other traffic infraction.
Since the crash occurred, city officials have decided that the scene of this accident will be the next place that they’ll be installing a raised crosswalk similar to what exists at Clinton Avenue. It’s slated to resemble a pedestrian crossing atop of a speed bump. The project, which isn’t slated to get underway until the spring, is part of a larger $3 million road safety initiative.
As a side note, before the incident occurred, the school’s administrators had long been making plans to relocate to a different facility. In the next few days, they’ll be moving into a new Olive Street building that has its very own playground onsite.
The frequency with which we hear about pedestrians being struck by motorists in Connecticut is increasing. Most of these incidents involve the victim being seriously injured or killed.
No amount of money will help you return to the same person you were before you were hurt, and it won’t bring back a loved one that was killed. A New Haven motor vehicle accident attorney can help you recover the compensation necessary to pay outstanding medical bills and help you send a message to others, so they don’t have to go through what you did.
