After a person was killed in a crash outside a South Los Angeles middle school, residents urged further action to protect youngsters from the deadly street, which is always congested with fast automobiles.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the crash occurred Tuesday near Vernon and McKinley Avenues, right outside George Washington Carver Middle School, around 7 a.m.
Surveillance video recorded a driver colliding with a parked automobile on the busy street. Paramedics pronounced the driver deceased at the site.
The fatal crash occurred just as the school day was about to begin. Residents claim that, despite the intersection’s designation as a school zone, cars frequently violate the signs and speed through the area.
“It’s kind of scary because to be walking on the streets knowing that people will crash and hit people,” said Teshanti Cash, a middle school student.
“It’s extremely dangerous that we don’t have lights on every corner because kids are walking up and down these streets,” said Janilah Dubose, another student.
Although no one else was harmed in Tuesday’s incident, the intersection was just one street away from where a 12-year-old boy was hit and killed by a car while walking home from school in April 2024.
Derrick Serrano, 12, a sixth-grade student at Washington Carver Middle, was murdered while crossing the roadway at Vernon and Wadsworth Avenues.
His mother, Claudia Gramajo, believes his death could have been avoided if sufficient safety precautions had been in place.
Parents reported that the major crossroads lacks crosswalks, signs, and safety signals to protect pupils.
Residents and community members claim that pupils are endangering their lives every day by being forced to maneuver severely packed roads and crossings directly outside their school.
“It was sad,” Cash said about Serrano’s death. “Knowing this is a school zone, that shouldn’t be going on.”
In addition to excessive traffic, the region is infamous for reckless drivers who engage in dangerous street stunts and sideshows.
Neighbors say the neighborhood sorely needs more pedestrian safety infrastructure, and community members have been asking for a traffic light or other traffic-calming elements such as speed bumps or a flashing light.
Cash and Dubose stated that they want to feel safe crossing the street and should not be concerned about if their lives are in risk every day.
“I want people to be more responsible and respectful of other people’s kids,” Cash told the crowd.
The cause of Tuesday’s crash is still under investigation. The identity of the slain driver has yet to be released by the LAPD.
KTLA has contacted the councilmember who handles the South Park area for comment and is awaiting a response.