SAN DIEGO - Neighbors are clamoring for traffic signals in a Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood after a 55-year-old woman was fatally struck by a pickup truck while she was loading bags into her car.
The crash happened on Carmel Mountain Road near Gerana Street around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, prompting a lengthy closure of Carmel Mountain Road.
A neighbor told 10News that she saw the victim before the accident going back and forth to get her bags. She said the woman was hit by the car on the last trip inside.
Police said the accident was not a hit-and-run and the 72-year-old driver of the white pickup truck remained at the scene as investigators combed the street taking notes and measurements. The front end of the pickup was left smashed after the accident.
The woman was crossing at an intersection without a marked crosswalk, authorities said.
Multiple apartment complexes surround the area and after this accident, neighbors are calling for change.
"How many more fatalities do we have to have, human [lives] lost, before they give us a crosswalk and a light at Gerana street?" said Kristen Taylor. "This could have been anybody, this could have been us, this could have been one of our children."
On Friday, several neighbors commented on visibility dangers. Ashley Gaines told 10News, "During the nighttime, it's hard to see cars coming, so it's really scary to walk across. Even during the day, there's a big piece in the middle … can't see cars until they're right there."
A spokesman for the city of San Diego said the intersection is qualified for a stoplight, along with several others.
However, there is no funding and no timetable for sources for that money.
A city engineer will visit the site next week to evaluate interim measures.
