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Deaths At Dangerous Intersection Have Sacramento Residents Calling For Change

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Residents are demanding change after a series of deadly accidents in the last week.

On average, the City of Sacramento has 10 pedestrian fatalities each year, but this month there have already been three.

"My dad is fine. He's not coming back," said Rhonda Johnson, who believes her father would still be here with if the crosswalk had a light. "Just do something about it because my family is hurt by this, very hurt."

Ron Johnson was 62-year-old. He crossed Marysville Boulevard at Roanoke just before 8 p.m. when a driver struck and killed him last week.

"For me, this is a very dangerous intersection and I would not cross," said Debra Cummings, a community activist.

She has tried to make it her mission for years to fix this deadly intersection especially with two schools nearby.

"We have to come out here and make sure that our street is safe for our babies to cross to get from the school. That's their right they have to get there safely," she said.

It turns out a 'High Intensity Activated Crosswalk' also called a 'Hawk,' was approved by the city to be installed on Marysville Boulevard through a grant making it one of nine more for the city.

But the catch, installation won't start until May and for this community, it isn't soon enough.

"We need some help out here, so let's get this going right away," said Big Paul McBean.

City council made a commitment back in October to eliminate all pedestrian, bicycle, and even vehicle fatalities by 2027.

Cummings said they need those changes now before the next person is killed.

"I am not waiting 90 or 60 days. That's unacceptable, it stops today," she added.

These lights aren't cheap. They cost $85,000 to install.

Neighbors in Del Paso Heights tell me they're going to push the city to get the crosswalk up before May.

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