Neighbors push for safety changes after crash kills 3-year-old in Roseville
Police block Larpenteur Avenue on the night of June 15, 2022 after a crash that claimed the life of a 3-year-old girl. (FOX 9)
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - After a fatal crash in Roseville that claimed the life of a young girl, neighbors are pushing for safety improvements to be made.
Roseville police say a 3-year-old girl has died and a 47-year-old man is in critical condition after the crash Wednesday night. There's an air of frustration on the busy stretch of Larpenteur Avenue at Galtier Street, as neighbors ask why they have to see another person, this time a toddler, get hit and killed by a car.
Neighbors push for safety changes after fatal crash in Roseville
Roseville police say a 3-year-old girl has died and a 47-year-old man is in critical condition after the crash Wednesday night. There's an air of frustration on the busy stretch of Larpenteur Avenue at Galtier Street, as neighbors ask why they have to see another person, this time a toddler, get hit and killed by a car.
"It's terrible. It's something you never want to see," said Roger Koch, who has lived at the corner of Larpenteur and Galtier for 45 years.
On Wednesday evening, officers said the man and the little girl were crossing Larpenteur when they were hit by a car. The 75-year-old driver immediately pulled over. Police said they did not notice any obvious signs of impairment, and she is cooperating with the investigation.
Koch ran out of his home to see what had happened. And what he saw once again has him questioning pedestrian safety.
"(We need) something to bring attention to that crosswalk, especially for all the little kids that go to that school there," he said.
In 2019, a man and a woman were killed crossing Larpenteur just two blocks down.
In the last few years, the road was re-designed aiming to improve pedestrian crossings. But Kent Nelson, who has lived on Galtier Street for almost 30 years, thinks the intersection was better off before.
"(The re-design) made it worse. I think it's more congested now than it's ever been," Nelson said. "I think it should go back to four lanes. It was a lot safer that way, I thought."
Koch would also like to see the speed limit lowered from 45 to 35 mph. Both neighbors would like to see flashing lights added to the crosswalk like some other crosswalks nearby, in hopes that they don't have to see this happen to anyone else.
"They should have a lighted crosswalk where the sign flips on -- because there's a lot of people that walk up and down this street," Nelson said.
Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or may have information related to the investigation to call 651-767-0640.