FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Colin Parent
619-571-5231 (cell)
Press Release: Critical Injury of Chargers intern highlights the need for Vision Zero in San Diego
SAN DIEGO (August 8, 2016) -- 23-year-old J’Ron Erby, an intern for the San Diego Chargers, was struck while walking earlyFriday in a hit-and-run crash on the 900 block of Garnet Avenue.
This terrible collision is a reminder of how important it is for our region’s leaders to commit to Vision Zero, a campaign to make our streets safe from serious injuries and deaths. Garnet Avenue is one of the eight most dangerous corridors in the City of San Diego, as identified by research from Circulate San Diego in our groundbreaking Vision Zero report:http://www.circulatesd.org/visionzerosd.
As reported by the Union Tribune, San Diego police Officer Robert Heims described the driver as having swerved into a wrong-way lane about 1 a.m. in order to pass slower vehicles.
Circulate San Diego and a diverse coalition of 20 organizations have been promoting an initiative for the last two years called Vision Zero that has the goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries throughout San Diego.
The concept behind Vision Zero is to reach zero traffic deaths through safer street design, education, and enforcement. The program has been successful in other U.S. and European cities.
San Diego's City Council adopted a Vision Zero resolution last October to support the goal of zero traffic deaths in San Diego by 2025. Since then, Circulate San Diego has worked with Mayor Faulconer's office and City staff to form a Vision Zero Task Force and create a one-year implementation strategy.
According to Jim Stone, Executive Director for Circulate San Diego, “Traffic injuries are preventable. Our streets need to be designed with safety in mind. We must also focus efforts on educating drivers and enforcing our traffic laws to prevent serious injuries."
Circulate San Diego is a regional non-profit organization dedicated to advancing mobility and making the region a better place move, work, learn, and play. Our work focuses on creating great mobility choices, more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, and land uses that promote sustainable growth.
San Diego’s most dangerous corridors, based on data from the UC Berkeley, Safe Transportation Research and Education Center, Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS), http://tims.berkeley.edu.
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