Neighbors sign letter pressuring DDOT to do more to cut down on pedestrian crashes

Neighbors in Ward 5 have circulated a letter to their advisory neighborhood commissioners calling on them to pressure the District's Department of Transportation to take action after a recent spate of crashes that have killed pedestrians, cyclists and in one instance a moped driver.

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Brookland resident Tom Bridge wrote the letter, saying he wants to see strategies to slow drivers on major D.C. roads.

"My goal here is to reduce traffic deaths in D.C. period," Bridge said.

On Sunday, a suspected drunk driver hit two pedestrians from North Carolina, sending them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

D.C. Police and Park Police are investigating a pair of deadly hit-and-run crashes that happened just days apart late last month.

A driver in a gold Lincoln Towncar ran a stop sign on 51st Street Northeast, police say, killing Edgar Delcid April 29. Police have not made any arrests.

Just days before on April 24, a pickup truck struck and killed Rhonda Whitaker and Waldon Adams, two advocates for ending homelessness, on Hains Point. Park Police say the driver initially left the scene, but is now cooperating. The driver has not yet been charged.

Bridge brought up a non-fatal crash in his neighborhood on Friday, where a car ended up on its side on the steps of Bunker Hill Elementary School.

"All I have to think is thank God for the pandemic or two kids might be dead. I feel like the city has been talking a really good game but they have not been motivated to actually act and make a difference for our community," he said.

Vision Zero data show traffic deaths are up 45 percent so far this year, compared to the same period in 2020. Deadly crashes were up nearly 40 percent for all of 2020.