PITTSBURGH — After 10-year-old boy was hit by a car on Pioneer Avenue in Brookline, just across from Moore Park, neighbors are pleading for drivers to slow down. They’re also urging parents of young kids to make sure their children know just how dangerous Pioneer Avenue can be.
Warren Berlinsky says the city did the right thing by installing speed bumps in the area, but drivers still fly over them and then accelerate in between the humps and down the hill.
“You can hear them,” Berlinsky tells Channel 11. “As soon as they slow down over that speed bump, they just floor it.”
Our crews saw car after car coming down the hill on Pioneer Avenue, some never even tapping the breaks over the speed bumps.
“I can go over them without slowing down and there’s no issue at all,” Berlinsky adds. “It helps but to what extent?”
Neighbors say after a 10-year-old little boy was hit by a car outside Moore Park last Wednesday around dinnertime, it’s time for another bump to be added along the straightaway, right outside the park. Or one that’s more prominent and can slow traffic more effectively, they proposed.
“I just missed it,” Berlinsky said. “I was driving the other way and I got a text from my roommate saying that it just happened 30 seconds ago. Maybe this will help people realize that hey, these are here for a reason. There are kids running around. We need to be safe and more cognizant of that.”
Neighbors say they want to prevent another tragedy and that will take everyone doing their part, including families teaching kids not to run into the road after a ball or toy, which Berlinsky says he’s seen many times.
“There will be kids running around on bikes, scooters, falling from their scooters onto the road, which I’ve seen before,” Berlinsky added. “Cars are going to drive, kids are going to run. Be more cognizant of both and that’s going to make it better, I suppose.”
Police tell us the little boy was taken to a hospital and was conscious and alert. We’re working to learn if he’s on the mend and feeling better. Police also tell Channel 11 the driver stayed on the scene and at this time, that person is not facing any charges.
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