Parents call for safety changes after son fatally struck by car in Ridley Township
RIDLEY TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Instead of preparing for Damien Hocker's senior year of high school, his parents are mourning his loss and pushing to improve pedestrian safety in Ridley Township and across Pennsylvania.
"Every day is really challenging," said Damien's mother, Elizabeth Hocker. "All parents should have the privilege of seeing their child grow into an adult, and we don't have that privilege anymore."
Elizabeth and Doug Hocker created a petition to make streets safer, specifically at the intersection of MacDade Boulevard and Fairview Road where Damien,17, was struck by a vehicle and killed on April 17. He was their only child. Police said the driver left the scene but returned shortly after.
They also want changes at MacDade Boulevard and Morton Avenue.
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"Every day you drive up and down that road and you see kids everywhere," said Damien's father Doug. "You see cars flying up and down the roads not being hindered by anything. They're racing to get on the highway, and it's just dangerous. We wouldn't want this to happen to anybody."
Damien's family calls for footbridges, more pedestrian crosswalks, repealing the right turn on red law, and better enforcement of existing laws such as speed limits, distracted driving and traffic signs among other solutions.
"I hope people take into consideration when they get in their vehicle that they are risking the lives of pedestrians when they're not driving safely and abiding by the laws and paying attention," said Hocker.
"Your kids are on the road. Your families are on the road. You (drivers) have all the power," said Doug. "The pedestrian has nothing."
Damien's family said they would also like to see studies done on the road.
They said PennDOT had a proposed MacDade Boulevard Road Diet project along MacDade Boulevard from Fairview Road in Ridley Township to South Avenue in Glenolden Borough to help reduce crashes by decreasing the travel lanes and upgrading pedestrian facilities and traffic signals.
But the Ridley Township website shows the Board of Commissioners canceled the project, stating it was not in the best interest of residents.
"It's just so devastating really," said Suzanne De Seife who is Damien's grandmother.
She has been in contact with some state and local leaders about the solutions and research.
"We don't ever want to see anybody else ever have to do that again, and that's what I would say to these politicians and policymakers, 'Where are your priorities?'" said Seife.
The family won't stop advocating so that Damien and others don't just become another statistic.
"I feel like he doesn't have to be that if we make changes and make the road safer and prevent lives from being taken," said Elizabeth.
PennDOT encourages the township to have continued discussions and collaboration to identify and implement measures that align with both PennDOT's safety goals and the community's preferences.
PennDOT also said there is currently a highway project to address the area of MacDade Blvd near I-476, which would extend to Fairview Road. The operations team is working with the construction team to hopefully add additional safety measures at the Fairview Road intersection by installing high-visibility pedestrian pavement markings to the existing crosswalks to help increase driver awareness of the pedestrian crossing.
Senator Tim Kearney released this statement to Action News:
"While there were proposed traffic calming measures for MacDade Blvd via a "road diet" to improve safety, those plans were unfortunately abandoned earlier this summer due to public concerns. However, this incident underscores the urgent need for Ridley to revisit and prioritize pedestrian safety measures.
At the state level, we have taken significant steps to address traffic safety, including the legalization of automated speed enforcement cameras in Philadelphia and authorizing studies to expand their usage to other municipalities...My office and PennDOT are ready to bring state resources to assist in making MacDade safe when the community is ready for change."
