ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Police are looking for the car that struck and killed a pedestrian in South City.
It happened on South Grand near Juniata just after 9:00 p.m. on Friday.
Witnesses said the SUV went through the red light, hit the man in the crosswalk and left the scene.
Business owners, along South Grand, said reckless driving is a major issue in their community.
It's something they have asked the city and police for help on over the past three years.
President of the South Grand Community Improvement District, Natasha Bahrami, said they were just hoping they could resolve this issue before someone had to lose their life.
"We have no consequences for what's happening right now," she said.
A family-friendly movie night was interrupted on Friday, July 15, after a pedestrian was hit by a car running a red light, according to Bahrami.
"Last night, we had a tragic event that very much could have been prevented, here on South Grand," she said.
Local business owner, Danni Eickenhorst, said as soon as the movie started, she heard a thud.
"Immediately, as a mom, your brain goes to a million places, all the worst places and I thought calm down, it's not what you think it was, and pretty quickly screams began," she said.
Once she realized there was nothing else they could do, heartbreak sank in for Eickenhorst, because she's been down this road before.
"Since we've moved to South Grand, this has been a recurring issue, reckless driving. Nine out of 10 accidents on our street are with uninsured drivers," she said.
That's only the beginning.
According to Bahrami, in the last six months, 370 accidents have happened on South Grand between Tower Grove East and Tower Grove South.
"The numbers extreme, but I'm here every day, and it's not surprising to me," she said.
Bahrami said people blowing through red lights and driving almost double the speed limit is something she sees often in front of her restaurant.
"If there are no consequences to irresponsible driving, there's nothing to stop them from doing it again," she said.
While the issue continues to impact the safety of their community, both business owners are pleading for help from those in power.
"We worry about our customers being safe, we worry about our employees being safe," Eickenhorst said.
"We need to come together to find a solution for this," Bahrami said.
Eickenhorst also added that two people came up to her at the scene on Friday, saying they've both been hit at this same intersection.
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