SAN DIEGO — A group of families are calling on the City of San Diego to fix streets where there have been several deadly crashes. The families have named those streets as “the fatal 15.”
Mayor Todd Gloria's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget addresses eight of those streets. Now, these families and community groups are demanding the city fix what they call the “seven deadly leftovers.”
Their list includes:
- Clairemont Mesa Blvd & Doliva Dr
- Rosecrans St & Moore St
- Federal Blvd & Euclid
- Mira Mesa Blvd & Black Mountain Rd
- Westview Pkwy & Mira Mesa Blvd
- Imperial Ave & 26th St
- Market St & 19th St
Katie Gordon’s late husband Jason died at one of the intersections on the group's "seven deadly leftovers" list, leaving behind his wife and their twin baby girls Malea and MaKayla. The driver, Christopher Nunez, who hit and killed Jason left the scene, stopping to get tacos moments after taking Jason’s life.
"I'm here for them (Malea and MaKayla.) I want them to know their mom has a voice,” Gordon shared emotionally. “And that we're advocating for this not to happen to other people so they don't lose a dad or a family member. We want to create safe streets for them to feel comfortable biking or walking," Gordon said doing her best to hold back tears that couldn’t help but flow.
The driver that killed Gordon’s husband has been sentenced. Now Gordon, and this group of families connected by tragedy fight to make San Diego's streets safer.
Laura Keenan lost her husband Matt in 2021. Matt was riding his bicycle in Mission Valley when he was killed by a wrong way driver. She now sits on SANDAG’s Technical Advisory Group and is the founder of Families for Safe Streets SD.
"54% of all crashes in the City of San Diego are concentrated on 6% of the streets so fixing these will go a long way in saving lives," Keenan informed the group gathered at the intersection of Market and 19th Street.
Mayor Gloria’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 for the City of San Diego has money to fix eight of "the fatal 15" but Keenan says the city has to do more to protect San Diegans.
"We're not asking for a lot of money,” Keenan said emphatically. “We're asking for an additional $700,000 to fix these remaining seven intersections. It's a drop in the bucket."
Robert Limon lives nearby. He says he’s lived in the area for decades. He says he knows exactly how deadly Market Street can be, alone. He describes several deadly crashes that he’s witnessed.
"I've seen the buses hit, twist a car and the old man flew up through a window," Limon shared.
Gordon says simple enhancements to the “seven deadly leftovers” across San Diego could go a long way to save lives. She says she has only been to the intersection where her husband died twice since his death.
"Having the digital cross walk signs. That's not apparent on each intersection. There is zebra striping but just making it more apparent, with different reflection and colors and maintaining that would be a great start on this intersection,” Gordon said.
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