SAN ANTONIO – A deadly crash that killed a 6-year-old boy in a West Side neighborhood Tuesday evening is shedding light on at least one other traffic concern people in the area have.
The boy, identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office as Axel Hernandez, died after being hit by a pickup.
San Antonio police say he was riding on a plastic toy when he rolled out into traffic on Amires Place near 38th Street.
Police say the driver who hit him was not at fault, and that the crash appeared to be accidental.
On Thursday morning, flowers and candles from a vigil the previous night sat steps away from where Axel was killed. People living in the area say the boy’s death brings to mind memories of other crashes in the area.
In December 2021, a man accused of driving drunk and running a stop sign at the corner of Amires Place and 38th street hit a vehicle carrying a pregnant woman and another child.
Charges against Gerardo Lozano, who was 33 years old at the time, were upgraded to intoxication manslaughter after the woman’s baby, newly born, died.
Earlier that year, in July, another woman was injured in a similar crash at the same intersection.
In that case, police said the driver who caused the crash was also intoxicated and ran a stop sign.
A different problem, though, is what is at the forefront of neighbors’ minds.
Speeding drivers, they say, have had them most worried about their safety.
“(The city) did do improvements down the street. They put the speed bumps down there but did not continue up here,” said Leslie Balderas Salazar, pointing to the section of Amires Place where Axel was killed.
She said while speed bumps may not have made a difference in this case because it does not appear the driver was speeding, she believes they could keep others safe in the future.
San Antonio City Councilmember Teri Castillo, who represents that neighborhood, issued a written statement to KSAT 12 News, acknowledging that she has heard similar concerns about speeders from people living in that area.
The statement said Castillo is working with SAPD’s San Antonio Fear Free Environment (SAFFE) officers to increase patrols there.
It said she also is working with the city’s Public Works Department on making additional safety improvements to the area.
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