Eglinton safety concerns raised after teenager 'clipped' by car
The teen did not sustain any significant injuries but was left scared and shocked
Fresh concerns about Eglinton’s pedestrian crossing have arisen following an incident involving a local teenager being ‘clipped’ by a car in the village.
Grace O’Donnell (17) was using the crossing on Tuesday, August 24 when a car failed to stop and hit the back of her leg.
The teen did not sustain any significant injuries but was left scared and shocked by what happened.
“I was at work in a local café which is beside the crossing, and I went across to the shop to get milk. I was coming up to the zebra crossing and the car stopped so I went ahead to walk, then when I was in the middle of the crossing right in front of the car, they just started driving again and clipped me on the back of the right leg.
“They just drove on and I walked on into the shop in total shock, that’s when I phoned my mammy and just started crying, I was so upset and scared.”
Grace is anxious and concerned about the situation.
“Some cars just race through the village and don’t stop. My little brother and his friends love walking to and from school and it just keeps going through my head what if somebody just drives on through the crossing when they are using it,” she added.
Grace’s mother Catherine posted on social media asking for witnesses to which she received numerous accounts from locals who have encountered something similar.
“It seems to be that in this past year there have been so many incidents and the police can do very little because there is no CCTV pointing at the crossing,” Catherine said.
An online community forum, ‘Eglinton News’ also has lots of reports regarding near misses and vehicles failing to stop at the same crossing.
This along with the single – vehicle collision which saw a woman and child hospitalised last December seem to highlight the need for new traffic calming measures.
A spokesperson from the Department of Infrastructure said: “A request for traffic calming to be introduced on the Woodvale Road in Eglinton has been received and preliminary public consultation has taken place. The responses to this are now under consideration. The Department is also considering further measures to improve safety at the crossing on Main Street.”