Hit-And-Run Crash Has Community Wanting Answers On Removed Crosswalk

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Traffic on Freeport Boulevard was back to normal Thursday after a gruesome hit-and-run crash sent a 71-year-old woman and a 6-year-old boy to the hospital a day earlier.

They are still fighting for their lives, and now, the man behind the wheel is behind bars.

Gurdeep Sidhu, 22 of West Sacramento, was charged with felony hit-and-run. He turned himself into authorities last night.

Questions over the safety of the street remain the focus of the community. Residents are demanding a new crosswalk, and a plan to put the pressure on the city to do so.

"People should be outraged and try to correct it," said neighbor Lindsey Moseanko.

She says the city removed the crosswalk last year, despite warnings from neighbors.

"It's a pretty far walk to get to the crosswalk. Maybe not so much for me, but I've watched 12-year-old kids coming and going from school," she said.

That's why, Moseanko says, she was horrified when this suspected hit and run driver slammed into an elderly woman and child. It happened on the street she walks daily.

Now, she says two of her neighbors are fighting for their lives, and her community is struggling to figure out why.

"Why not? Why not have a pedestrian crosswalk?" she said.

The city says, there were never any flashing signals at the crosswalk, to begin with. Just white paint, giving pedestrians a false sense of security.

"My neighbor was hit here when he was walking, and he said he got hit when no one saw the crosswalk," said neighbor Brandon Hobson.

Hobson complained.

The city sent traffic investigators to check it out and found that a marked crosswalk with no signals may lead to more collisions.

Instead of replacing it with a new crosswalk with flashing lights, the city simply removed it.

"I feel like if you're going to get rid of something, replace it immediately," said Hobson.

Officials say that takes resources, which the city doesn't have.
For now, they encourage pedestrians to walk a block to the traffic signal and safely cross the street.

Moseanko says her next stop is city hall.

"Put the pressure on and make a demand that they put them back," she said.

The city councilman who oversees Hollywood Park didn't comment on the complaints due to the ongoing hit-and-run investigation.