In light of the tragic death of Hannah Crutchfield, a seven-year-old student at Julian School #57 at the corner of Ritter and Washington St., the Irvington Community Council asked hard questions of local and state officials about traffic safety at their September meeting. Jason Larrison, City-County Councilor for the district; and Blake Johnson, State Representative for the area, were in attendance. The council invited representatives from the police department and the Department of Public Works to attend the meeting. Both agencies were absent for the discussion.
According to Larrison, DPW’s assessment of the corner indicate it met standards for the area for signage and speed limits. He also noted that IMPD lacks resources for extra patrols in the area.
Rep. Johnson revealed that he and Mitch Gore (D-Indianapolis)planned to introduce a plan to address reckless driving. Despite a decrease in traffic due to stay-at-home orders and a shift to work-from-home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted that roads are deadlier than ever. Indiana and Marion County saw drastic upticks in fatal accidents with 8.1% and 31% increases, respectively. Nationally, these increases represent the largest single-year uptick in vehicle fatalities in nearly a century.
On Friday, the representatives sent a letter to Governor Holcomb calling upon him to consider a bill to allocate a portion of the remaining $350 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CVRF) sent to the state to bolster existing public safety institutions’ efforts enforcing current traffic laws. In addition, the lawmakers asked the Governor to allow the Indiana State Police and local agencies to apply for dollars without a match requirement to pay for overtime for officers working traffic enforcement details. They also encouraged officials to provide access funds to county prosecutors to ease in handling the additional workload they would likely experience.
Gore and Johnson also want to introduce legislation in the 2022 session of the Indiana General Assembly that would permit cities to install traffic cameras in school zones. Municipal leaders throughout the state have expressed interest in traffic cameras, but state law currently bans cities from using them according to a 2008 attorney general opinion.
Currently, speeding in a school zone while lights are flashing incurs a fine of up to $1,000. Along the stretch of East Washington St., there are two school zones, one right after the other, for Our Lady of Lourdes and for School #57.
In other news, the Julian School #57 Parent-Student-Teacher Assocation stated that over $20,000 was raised in just a few days to help the Crutchfield family and the crossing guard who was injured in the accident. She was laid to rest on Saturday, Sept. 25.