Resident activists and neighborhood officials are calling for more safety measures to prevent speeding after a hit-and-run driver struck a 9-year-old boy on a bicycle in the Kingman Park neighborhood of Northeast D.C.
Disturbing video shows a car speeding around a corner, right by Blow Pierce Elementary school on Friday, and clipping the boy on 21st and Gale streets NE. He can be seen flying off the bike, then immediately getting back up and running over to his mother who was biking behind him.
"The car just came almost drifting around the corner so fast that my mind couldn't process exactly what was happening," the victim, Peter Dziekan, said.
The driver who hit Peter never stopped.
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Peter was treated for minor injuries. On Monday, his father, Zeke Dziekan, said his son is doing well.
“He's got a lot of stitches in his face, but he made it to school today. He really wanted to go be with his community and his friends and get a little change of pace," he said.
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The speed limit at the intersection is 25 mph, and there are stop signs in both directions. But Saturday evening, News4's Aimee Cho witnessed numerous cars ignoring those signs.
Some raced down the straightaway, and others barely slowed to a stop.
Just an hour before Peter was flung from his bicycle, another child was struck in front of a school in Congress Heights.
Activists and ANC Commissioner Tamar Blair met with a D.C. Department of Transportation official Monday at the intersection where the Peter was hit to discuss what potential changes could be made to prevent drivers from speeding and hitting anyone else.
“Some of the things we discussed, they are already aware of it and there are plans in place. I just learned today that there are three raised crosswalks planned for Oklahoma Avenue," ANC Commissioner Tamar Blair said.
The nearby intersection of Oklahoma Ave. and E Street NE is another area where some residents say there are speeding issues.
“The problem with 21st is it's a steep hill and running north to south and some speed humps in there will slow people down real quick," Zeke Dziekan said.
A spokesperson for DDOT said the agency is in the process of doing another safety assessment for the intersection where Peter was struck.
At a remembrance event Sunday for another child, 5-year-old Allison Hart, demonstrators held signs like "SAFER STREETS CAN'T WAIT" and children made chalk drawings at the intersection.
Allison died after she was hit by a car while riding her bike in Brookland at 14th and Irving streets NE.
"We need safe streets. People keep getting killed by drivers in the District, we know what needs to be done," Rachel Maisler, from the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council, said.
