ST. LOUIS — An overnight crash in South St. Louis killed a pedestrian Sunday morning.
According to police, the victim was struck and killed by a car just before 4 a.m. on Sunday at the intersection of Chippewa and Meramec streets.
Incidents like these are why Liz Kramer and everyone else on the St. Louis City Community Mobility Committee are working to make streets safer.
"Our streets are so unsafe and they're so dangerous," she said.
It's an issue Kramer and many others are trying to change.
"We're not the only city in the country that has this problem and has an increasing rate of pedestrian deaths and dangerous crashes," she said.
As co-chair of the St. Louis City Community Mobility Committee, Kramer is focused on making the streets safer for those not in the driver's seat.
"I think that it's a basic right to be able to get around your city safely and not feel threatened and not feel like you're going to die," she said.
That's why when Kramer heard a pedestrian was hit by a car and died Sunday morning in South St. Louis all she could feel was heartbroken.
"No one should die on our streets under any circumstances, and especially not people who are out walking," she said.
According to Kramer, Chippewa Street has been a problem for quite some time now.
She believes that part of the reason is because of how wide the street is, which in turn, makes drivers go even faster.
"When you have those narrower streets, people are going to drive a little bit more carefully. It's going to naturally slow them down," Kramer said.
She said improving infrastructure, just like that, on intersections across the city is one of the many things her committee is fighting for.
The south city's troubled spot, where a life was lost Sunday morning is no exception, according to Kramer.
"The fatality rate for pedestrians or people bicycling increases with every additional mile of speed," she said.
While Kramer said many factors go into reckless driving, the issue boils down to livelihood.
"When you see something like, wow, deaths happened here because someone was walking and nothing changed, it really de-motivates people to try out other modes of transportation because they feel less safe," she said.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is considering two bills related to reauthorizing an automated traffic enforcement program.
The St. Louis Community Mobility Committee, according to Kramer, supports the proposals if they can be executed in an accountable and equitable way across the city.
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