Worcester declares traffic crisis following death, serious injury of 2 teenage girls
WORCESTER – On June 27 on Belmont Street, 13-year-old Giana Rose Simonici was killed by a passing car in Worcester. On Monday of this week, 13-year-old Ayuen Leet was hit on Shrewsbury Street. She is currently in a coma in critical condition.
In response, Worcester city leaders declared a "traffic violence crisis."
"The intent of this declaration is to draw attention to the serious and worsening problem of traffic violence and rally the community behind actions to address it," a statement read.
In an op-ed last month, local blogger & reporter Greg Opperman claimed that "Worcester Kills Children."
"These things are not just accidents," he told WBZ. "They are the intentional or inevitable conclusion of a series of political choices that we make in the way that we design roads."
"[Politicians] would rather children die then maybe to have their trip to Whole Foods take another minute or two," Opperman alleged.
Worcester has nearly 3,000 crashes in 2024
Data shows that Worcester has had nearly 3,000 crashes this year. By comparison, Boston has had just over 3,000 crashes – but has more than three times the population of Worcester.
Vision Zero plan expedited
City Manager Eric Batista tells WBZ the city is taking steps to address the issue head-on, including expediting its Vision Zero plan. Vision Zero is a global movement to eliminate traffic fatalities. Worcester was set to have consultants conduct an assessment this fall.
That assessment will be moved up in the next 60 days, according to Batista. "We need to put closer attention and make sure we call it the urgency that it is to show that we are moving quicker and taking action on the necessary steps that we need to use as an administration to make sure that all road users are safe," Batista said in an interview.
Still, critics like Opperman say certain city councilors have held up movements to lower city speed limits. "If there's anything we can do to save the lives of these children, or make it deaths more preventable, we should do that," he said.
