ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Traffic safety concerns are surfacing in Romulus following a fatal crash at the intersection of Van Born and Cogswell, Thursday night. The victim is a 17-year-old girl, according to a family friend.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report:
Neighbors describe the intersection as treacherous. Currently, there's a makeshift memorial at the corner honoring the victim of another fatal crash.
“Traffic has gotten a lot worse," resident Cassandra Battle said.
She's lived at the corner of Van Born and Cogswell for two decades. Thursday night, she heard the fiery impact of a crash. A family friend of the victim tells 7 News Detroit that a 17-year-old girl lost her life.
“It was an explosion," Battle recalled. “Boom, and I jumped up on my feet, and I went, and I just saw the car all ablaze down the street.”
The vehicle collided with a U-Haul truck. A loved one tells 7 News Detroit the two occupants in that vehicle survived.
While police investigate the cause, Battle argues tragedies like this could be avoided with a traffic signal and better street lighting.
Battle said, “I don’t know how many more people are going to have to die. I really don’t.”
James Drummond, who lives across the road, said, “There’s been several major accidents involved in just this little section of Van Born.”
The intersection T-bones right at his office, where he serves as safety director. His surveillance cameras captured a different crash where a driver blew through the stop sign, flipped, and smashed into two concrete barriers.
“She never even slowed down," he explained. “She crawled, and they got her to safety before the explosion happened.”
That woman survived with a broken leg. To prevent more bloodshed, he's now starting a petition to force action from local government.
Battle said, “They told me about the cost. It would be too costly, and who's gonna pay for it?”
Drummond said, “There needs to be a formal study on the accidents in this area, specifically for Romulus and Wayne. So that they can determine financial responsibility.”
He said, “The petition needs to find out whether there’s enough lighting, which I don’t think there is. There’s need to be some formal signage stating that they’re approaching an intersection.”
Battle said, “Get us a light, please. Please, get us a light.”
The jurisdictional lines make the fix complicated. Battle lives on the Romulus side, but the other side of the street is Wayne, and Van Born itself is a county road.
