Stockton Family Of Grandmother Who Was Killed Walking To Church Pushes For Greater Traffic Safety
STOCKTON (CBS13) — A Stockton family is now pushing for greater traffic safety after a grandmother was hit by a car and killed while walking to church.
The driver left the scene, leaving Trinidad Cornelio, 71, for dead in the middle of the road in Stockton on Thursday night.
There's a renewed push for traffic safety following the tragic incident. The concern in the area is how fast cars drive down West Benjamin Holt Drive.
It's not known yet if the person who hit Cornelio was speeding, but CBS13 learned there was a push to get a crosswalk in the area West Benjamin Holt and Leesburg Place that didn't see success.
Some residents said this stretch of road is threatening pedestrian safety as cars drive fast up and down the area — the same area Cornelio was struck and killed while walking to church.
"It's definitely a blow when you see the phone ring and you know it's not good news," Freddy Cornelio, nephew, said.
MORE: Elderly Woman Killed In Hit And Run While Walking To Church
Freddy said the 71-year-old Cornelio was heading to presentation catholic church for mass and to honor her late mother's birthday.
"They hit a human person, a grandma, an aunt, a mother," he said.
CBS13 reached out to San Joaquin County Public Works which said the consideration of a crosswalk is made on a case-by-case basis. The county has to consider a number of factors before installing a crosswalk, including federal highway administration design guidelines.
Aliyah Avalos is disappointed the person who hit her grandmother didn't even bother stopping.
"She watched me when I was little, she was always there," Avalos said. "It's just sad how someone would just run away and leave her there. They could've at least helped her."
At this point, a crosswalk is neither here nor there for this family. For now, they just want the person who hit and killed their loved one to be caught.
"What happened? 'I was on the phone, sorry I had been drinking, I'm ready to face the consequences,' you know as we say, man up." Freddy said.
Now, San Joaquin County officials said they are working with the California Highway Patrol to see what can be done to make this stretch of road safer
