PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Pennsylvania lawmaker is working to make Germantown roads safer, after a deadly accident.
State Rep. Darisha Parker has demanded the streets commissioner do a traffic study for safety patterns in the area — especially the intersection of Germantown Avenue and Coulter Street. That's where 21-year-old Dia Lee was hit and killed by a speeding car on June 20.
Standing at that corner, Parker watched one reckless driver after another. "We've been standing here for a few seconds and people are driving fast and literally going through the red light," she observed.
That's why she wants to identify the improvements needed to make that stretch of road safer. According to PennDOT records, there have been a total of 10 crashes at that intersection between 2017 and 2021.
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"They speed up and down this avenue like it's the expressway," said Crystal Jackson, owner of Perfectly Flawless Boutique, less than a block away from the intersection.
Jackson is one of many residents who say the intersection has been a problem spot for years, and that it was only a matter of time before someone was hurt. She told KYW Newsradio she wanted more enforcement.
"We need police officers pulling people over so they have some type of fear, like, 'This is the area where police are going to stop me,'" she suggested.
Wayne, who was waiting at that corner for the bus, said he wasn't surprised at all that someone was hurt. "People need to be more aware and slow down around here," he said, "because they have been driving kind of crazy around this joint."
Parker said she hopes to have the study completed as soon as possible.