News

Community on edge after crash near spot where 2-year-old was fatally struck

A South Boston community is steaming with concerns about safety following a car crash less than two months after a 2-year-old boy was fatally struck by a car.

The crash happened near the same spot as where Colin McGrath was hit and killed in Southie, as a Jeep flipped onto its side next to a memorial honoring McGrath.

"This is exactly where Colin McGrath was killed several weeks ago, this exact same spot," Southie resident Gretchen Voolich said. "The memorial is right there."

>>MORE: Boy dies after being hit by a car in South Boston, another injured

Less than two months after the death, a two-car accident near the spot brought back bad memories.

"You think one tragedy is bad enough," Southie resident Kelsey Harrington. "Coming close to what could've been another one is, it's unbelievable. It shakes you to your core."

No one involved in the crash was seriously injured, but neighbors remain on edge after the tragedy in July.

"I looked up and the Jeep was on its way to flipping on its side, " Harrington said. "The next thing I know, the wonderful people were running to the car and pulling the people out. Didn't think about themselves."

Good Samaritans pulled the man and woman, a couple visiting from Oakland, California, out of the passenger door of the flipper car on L Street.

The couple was heading to the airport in a rental car when witnesses say a woman clipped them from behind after failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

"She literally didn't stop, my car stopped her," Paul Howard, the driver of the Jeep, said. "She definitely didn't see me, she definitely didn't stop."

South Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn said he's actively working toward a solution.

>>RELATED: Officials looking to improve safety along L Street following fatal crash

"We're going to do everything we possibly can to make this town as safe as possible," Flynn said.

Meanwhile, residents are still concerned for their safety.

"You cross, and you put your life in everyone else's hands and hope they stop," Harrington said.

Last month, new speed limit signs were installed in the neighborhood, with one on L Street that includes a digital screen that shows drivers how fast they're going.

Flynn is currently proposing a reduced speed limit from 25 to 20 mph, both in South Boston and across Boston as a whole.

Meanwhile, neighbors have been asking for speed bumps or a four-way stop sign in multiple spots to curb the issue.

No citations or charges were issued in connection to Monday's crash.