It is a scene that's become too familiar in our state - people mourning a pedestrian that police say was killed in a hit-and-run.
Earlier this month, someone we spoke with at a vigil said of a hit-and-run victim, “We're all just so, we're just broke, heartbroken. You know, we lost somebody very close and special to us.”
Data shows hit-and-run crashes with injuries spiking.
West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said this has been an issue everywhere.
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“Not just West Hartford and not just even the state of Connecticut. This is a national trend," she said.
State and local leaders are scrambling for solutions to this growing problem believed to be caused by speeding and aggressive driving.
Local
Hit-and-run crashes include vehicle vs. another vehicle, a bicyclist or a pedestrian - when the driver leaves the scene of the accident.
Remembering Beloved Basketball Coach Kendall May
Kendall May’s life was tragically cut short this past March by a hit-and-run driver in Hartford.
The community at A.I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford has been mourning the death of the longtime basketball coach. Police say he was killed in a hit-and-run on March 31.
Students, faculty and alumni at Prince Tech are still grappling with the loss of a well-known coach, mentor and father figure in the Bloomfield community.
People like former player Delshawn Jackson Sr., whose three sons also starred for May, said his shoes will be hard to fill.
“I was just crying, it just hit me crazy. He was the type that make you more, get you responsible and ready for the future. And so you can be ready for the world," Jackson said.
We asked Jackson how many students he thinks May helped in one way or another.
“Oh, he did it for thousands," Jackson said.
Kazell Stewart, one of May’s former basketball players, said he always saw his coach going out of the way to buy uniforms and meals for his student athletes that were struggling financially.
The multi-sport high school coach was also known for keeping several pairs of shoes in his office so students would never miss their trade shop classes.
“He was a person that just wanted the best out of everybody, regardless of what your situation was,” said Stewart. “He was always helping you reach and figure out what your purpose was in life."
First Responders Involved in Hit-and-Runs
While police remain on the hunt for whoever struck May, other arrests for alleged hit-and-runs have even involved first responders, including Hartford Fire Lieutenant Alcides Ortiz in January and State Trooper Catherine Koeppel last July.
We asked Ortiz outside court why police said he didn’t stop. He declined to comment.
While neither have pled guilty, Ortiz and Koeppel have said in court they’re applying for a diversion program for first-time offenders, where they can have their criminal charges dropped.
By the Numbers
Data shows hit-and-run crashes that cause injuries are up roughly 25% since 2015 in our state, from about 1,800 to 2,500, according to the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center.
“We're seeing a lot of increasing in DUI crashes…and hit-and-runs go right along with DUI crashes, because once somebody hits something, and they know they're under the influence, they'll flee," Center Director Eric Jackson said.
Jackson said couple that with more aggressive driving, bigger vehicles and less enforcement.
"Your lower-end hit-and-run crashes, you know, the police aren't going to, you know, they don't have the resources to track down every single hit-and-run," Jackson said.
The Department of Transportation’s spokesperson Josh Morgan said the DOT’s “Zero Task Force” recommendations in House Bill 5917 and Raised Senate Bill 1082 can help guide the state back to seeing zero pedestrian deaths in a year if passed by the General Assembly.
“The numbers jumped off the page in 2022 and we're around the same pace for 2023, but we’re not giving up,” said Morgan. “One life lost is too many.”
HB 5917 aims to:
- Allow municipalities to use red light and speed cameras
- Study making bicyclists stop/yield to stop signs, traffic signals
- Study the prohibition of right on red turns
- Every other license renewal, drivers would have to watch a safe driving video
- Extend Vision Zero safety program into Connecticut schools
Raised Senate Bill 1082 aims to:
- Lower blood alcohol content for driving and boating under the influence.
The state has piled a lot of resources into solving this problem and in West Hartford, which had five vehicle-related deaths in an eight-day stretch late last year - including a fatal hit-and-run - the town has adopted the “Vision Zero” initiative.
Creators of Vision Zero, developed in Sweden, have theorized that all crashes are preventable, with a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries through engineering, enforcement and education.
A Vision Zero task force has met in West Hartford since January, headed by town manager Rick Ledwith.
“This plan is going to be focused on all users. So it's on automobiles, it's on bicyclists, it's on pedestrians, we all have to be aware. And we all have to be accountable," Ledwith said.
Vision Zero and Ledwith have already been pursuing short-term solutions, including lowering speed limits in town, more speed bumps and traffic enforcement including red light cameras, if approved by the legislature.
Ledwith said he’s confident speed and traffic cameras are coming.
“Yeah, I do see that happening. I'm hopeful to see that change occur in the next year, right here in Connecticut," Ledwith said.
Plus, the task force has introduced long-term goals like roundabouts to promote safer driving - things that will take years and lots of money, according to Cantor.
“I would say we're in the millions [of dollars], you know, I think hundreds of thousands, maybe for that low hanging fruit. But then there will be a plan for some more significant engineering that will save lives," Cantor said.
Expensive, but important ideas, said West Hartford Vision Zero task force member Mary Donegan.
Donegan has been working at UConn as an assistant professor-in-residence for urban and community studies, and said society as a whole needs to rethink the relationship between cars, roads and pedestrians.
“The design of our streets, encourage people to drive fast, to pay attention only to cars. And the overall paradigm that we've had in this community and the state of Connecticut in general, has been that the car is the king, and the car is the only thing that we need to worry about. And I think that we are trying to undo that a little bit here," Donegan said.
West Hartford’s Vision Zero task force has identified a goal of eliminating crashes causing injuries or fatalities, within the next decade.
After the death of May, the people closest to him have wondered what’s it going to take to fix the overall problem.
Delshawn Jackson Sr. said in the meantime, “Just drive. Go to point A, point B, you're gonna get there, regardless of how fast you're going.”
