The crosswalk where a young girl was struck and killed by a car in East Palo Alto Wednesday has seen its share of crashes, according to people who live in the area.
Sioreli Torres, who would have turned seven this weekend, was struck at about 8:15 a.m. Wednesday on Bay Road near Gloria Way as she was walking to school with her mother. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Torres was a student at Cesar Chavez Elementary School.
A teacher of another school was the driver of the car that struck the child. She stopped and was questioned by police. So far no charges have been filed.
NBC Bay Area spoke to two different families who said their children were also struck in crosswalks on Bay Road. One of the crashes happened in April and left a little boy with broken bones. The injuries were bad enough that Julio Hernandez had to wear a cast on both legs for months.
Julio was struck within a few feet of the location of Wednesday crash.
Ignacio Rivera said his daughter was also struck in a crosswalk a little further down on Bay Road eight years ago. That driver did not stop and was never caught.
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"They hit my daughter. They broke her leg. And ever since then my daughter has had a lot of problems," Rivera said.
Parents said that police should at least put an officer on duty at the crosswalk during school hours.
Police said they are looking into ways to improve safety on Bay Road.
"It's a tragic event," East Palo Alto Mayor Carlos Romero told Bay City news.
Ravenswood City School District board member Saree Mading said district officials sent out an email updating faculty and staff on the situation.
"It's a small community. I know the teacher personally," Mading said.
