Community gathers for vigil to remember little girl hit and killed by car in South Boston
BOSTON - Families gathered in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood to speak out and remember the life of Gracie Gancheva, who was killed after being hit by a truck in an intersection on Sunday.
"It was a horrific accident that happened to young Gracie, and our thoughts and prayers are with her," Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn said.
The accident happened just one block away from the Boston Children's Museum. Gracie's family visiting from Colorado.
"Gracie's family visited the museum earlier this week, and they asked two specific things of us. For Gracie to not be forgotten and for her death not to be in vain. We take the safety of children very seriously," Boston Children's Museum Vice President of External Relations Charlayne Murrell-Smith said.
On Saturday morning, families gathered at the memorial to remember Gracie and hear about the updates on safety improvements in the intersection.
"In the wake of this tragedy, we have spent hours this week here with engineers looking at what we can do immediately," Boston's Chief of Streets, Transportation, and Sanitation Jascha Franklin-Hodge said.
Franklin-Hodge said for the last several years the city has been planning a full reconstruction of Congress, Sleeper, and A streets. But they've already begun implementing short-term fixes.
"To my left, there is an area that had a parking spot that is now blocked off so that cars are not blocking the visibility of the crosswalk, and we'll be adding additional markings and barriers there soon. We're also going to be restriping all pavement markings and crosswalks in the neighborhood," Franklin-Hodge said.
Neighbors voiced their concerns and opinions about what they've witnessed over the years at this intersection.
Lyndsay Fertitta is a resident and said she was down the street at Martin's Park with her daughter when she heard about the accident last Sunday.
"I thank you guys for being here, and I'm so sad it had to take this for you guys to be here. But we won't stop until we get something different because it's not okay, especially in front of the children's museum," said resident Lyndsay Fertitta, who was down the street from the accident when it happened.
Residents said they want to see immediate changes so tragedies like this don't happen again.
"We need improvement as soon as possible. As soon as tomorrow," Four Point Neighborhood Association President Tom Ready said.
