Residents in a Revere neighborhood are fed up with speeding cars.
They want drivers to slow down after a woman was hit and severely hurt crossing the street.
7Investigates took their concerns to the city and got answers.
Roberta Cordero’s daughter Gina is lying in the street as paramedics strap her to a stretcher.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” Roberta said. “There was a witness that saw her in the crosswalk and the driver didn’t, and that’s what’s scary.”
Gina was in the crosswalk on Malden Street when a car crushed her right side. Gina needed five surgeries since the accident on July 21 to repair her broken pelvis, leg, elbow, collarbone, and check bone. She also fractured her neck.
“If it was a bigger car or a truck, Ford truck or something they would’ve probably just mowed her over so we’re very lucky,” said Rita Dantona, Gina’s aunt.
Unfortunately crashes like this are not uncommon on Malden Street.
7Investigates found 23 accidents have occurred there since January of 2022. Half of those are within 500 feet at the corner of Newhall and Malden, where Gina was hit.
John Donnarumma started a petition about the ongoing danger to catch the attention of lawmakers.
“It just clicked in my head we have to do something about it,” Donnarumma said.
“The issue was not just this corner. It’s all the way down there around this corner and around the bend there’s issues over there.”
People living in the neighborhood fear someone will be killed if drivers don’t slow down.
“You just take your life and your hands as a driver or a pedestrian to try and make your way in either direction,” said Malden Street resident Daryl Overka.
“Every time I get to this one point to walk her to school I’m afraid,” an anonymous resident said about walking with their child.
“They’ve tried some ideas but they haven’t worked. It’s time now. People are getting hurt,” Malden Street resident Vin Conte said.
After hearing from the residents of Malden Street, we took their concerns directly to the mayor. Revere Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe Jr. says the city will be taking a serious look at this intersection.
“At the minimum we want to look at putting a stop sign at the top of Malden Street right there,” Keefe said.
Keefe and Revere Police Chief Dave Callahan joined 7 Investigates for a closer look at the area.
((Dave Puglisi and Keefe – 38:33))
“What are some ways that you can maybe improve the speed over here?” reporter Dave Puglisi asked.
“I have a few different ideas with our Safer Streets program we are going to be rolling out.” Keefe replied.
Keefe says the Safer Streets campaign will focus on major roadways across Revere including all of Malden Street.
“A lotta people are cutting through and they tend to step on it,” Keefe said. “They take this bend, and some of that they have to be cautious of, especially when you have a major crosswalk.”
Keefe says the city will be working with traffic engineers over the next couple of months to identify where improvements can be made. Resident’s hope it’ll be enough.
“Let’s do something about this to save lives,” Overka said.
Just hours after our conversation with the mayor, he put in an emergency order to change all sides of this light into a blinking red. He hopes that this could be a solution for now while they try to find a more permanent answer for not only this intersection but the entire street.
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