Town Hall Meeting Held Tonight Regarding Traffic Safety Around Schools After Elmhurst Fatal Hit and Run
Oakland – (From OUSD) Miesha Singleton, a mother of 7 children, lost her life in a deadly hit and run while picking up her children at Elmhurst United Middle School on January 17. Many students risk their lives daily while crossing 98th Avenue. The school community will be speaking out at a Town Hall meeting tonight addressing traffic safety and sending an impassioned message to the city and its residents.
Community members have been asking for a crossing guard and lights for more than 10 years, and want drivers on city streets, especially around schools, to slow down and be careful. They also want the city to make the streets around Elmhurst and other schools safer for pedestrians.
The community remains in mourning because Ms. Singleton lost her life. Her children were in the car, but this terrible accident was witnessed by hundreds of children getting out of school .
98th Avenue is notorious for being a street on which drivers speed and engage in other reckless behaviors. For several years, the school community has been campaigning the city for changes to keep students safe, for a crossing guard, for visibility and signage, such as flashing lights and more visible “School Zone” signs.
In 2017, families and the school community came together to demand changes after a three year old was hospitalized after a hit and run crash, but little has happened since. Now the community is back because of what they feared would happen: a fatality because of another reckless driver.
Oakland Police and the City say they have stepped up patrols and speed enforcement near the school, and added plastic roadblocks. The Elmhurst community is upset and says that’s not enough.
On Thursday evening, city officials have called a town hall meeting at Elmhurst United Middle School, in the names of Ms. Singleton and her family. The Elmhurst community, our students, families and staff will be speaking out and demanding a change for the safety of our community. Media is invited to cover this important town hall meeting.