Traffic Light Could Be Coming To Skokie Street Where Child Was Killed
SKOKIE, Ill. (CBS) -- It took a tragedy to make one Skokie street safer.
Eight-year-old Carter Vo was riding his bike on a side street on May 21 when two cars collided on busy Main street, and one careened into him.
Residents had been calling for a stop sign or stop light on Main street for years, long before Carter's death. Now a report from a school district safety task force is calling for one, too.
Skokie resident Matt Smith says Vo's death was the "straw that broke the camel's back." His son was friends with the 8-year-old victim.
Vo had been riding his bike. Police charged Hanin Goma with causing the accident and said she'd been smoking pot. The arrest didn't ease residents' concerns that the street is dangerous.
Since Carter's death, signs have popped up all over the neighborhood reminding drivers to slow down. And the village finally empaneled a task force to evaluate the conditions.
"Action steps" include installing a traffic light at Central Park and Main, moving a nearby pedestrian crosswalk to that intersection, trimming landscaping to improve sight lines and beefing up police presence.
"We have a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable citizens, and those are our children," Melina Kelson, a task force member, told CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez.
The changes are not a done deal. The village is welcoming more public input on the evening of Aug. 6 at a community meeting. If the stoplight gets the green light, Kelson says it will be fast-tracked and in place within six months.
