VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Deadly crashes have citizens concerned again after a man was killed Monday near the intersection of Baker Rd. and Northampton Blvd. in Virginia Beach.
This is the same area where legendary boxer Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker was killed in 2019.
News 3 spoke to other people who said they also lost loved ones near the area of Baker Rd. and Burton Station Rd., the next intersection on Northampton Blvd.
“I want people to know how many people risk their life when they cross the street,” said Marsha Osnaya, who drives on Northampton Blvd. every day.
“Every single day I’m reminded of what happened to my dad when I drive across this intersection,” said Osnaya.
In 2015, her dad, David Rose, was on his daily routine home, riding his bike just a few days before his 60th birthday when he was struck and killed. His family is still devastated.
“They miss their grandpa. They talk about him often. They look through the pictures and they wish that he was still here… everybody misses him. It’s been difficult. It has not been easy.”
News 3 covered the death of local boxing legend Sweet Pea Whitaker, who was killed while crossing the street near the same intersection, extensively.
The Norfolk native and world champion boxer was 55 years old.
Then, Monday night, 56-year-old Aubrey Parker was killed while crossing the street.
Linda Carrington was born and raised in the Burton Station section of the city.
She said her cousin and a friend died at Burton Station Rd. and Northampton back in the 1970s.
She says in 2018, she started getting people to sign a petition for more crosswalks after she witnessed a crash where a woman was injured.
“I went out in the rain, in the cold, and I started walking around the neighborhood,” said Carrington.
News 3 spoke to Drew Lankford from the Department of Public Works about safety additions that are being put in.
He says they've been in the works for more than a year and mentioned that Baker Rd. is in the design phase right now. Lankford said once that is finished, it will take about six months to complete.
He said the entire Burton Station area has seen a lot of growth and said the city's traffic engineering department determined that Burton Station Rd. needed a crosswalk, pedestrian signal poles on each corner and handicap ramps.
Lankford said they got the go ahead to move forward with the additions on September 20, which was just a few days before the recent crash.
He said the entire process is dependent upon the time required for design and approval, available funding, and getting the green light as one of many projects that are given the go-ahead.
For families who lost loved ones, they say changes can’t come fast enough.
“It happened to people in my family, and it’s been years trying to do something about it,” said Carrington.
Osnaya said she worries about people crossing all the time.
Work near Burton Station Road is expected to begin on Monday October 4.
