Howard University improving road safety after student hit, killed
Back in April, a freshman at Howard University died after he was hit by a car while walking on campus. Now, city leaders say safety improvements are coming to the school.
On April 11, Mohamed Samura was walking across a road on Howard’s campus when a faculty member who was speeding hit him, sending him to the hospital where he later died.
After his passing, students and community members began calling for more to be done at the intersection of Fairmont and 6th streets, saying it's a problem area.
Wednesday night, neighborhood commissioner Josh Jacobson said the District’s Department of Transportation listened and they’re getting ready to make some safety upgrades.
In a letter of intent sent to the neighborhood commission, the D.C. Department of Transportation says in response to Samura’s passing, they will make the following changes to this section of 6th Street right off Georgia Avenue to help prevent another traffic fatality.
- Add speed humps
- Raise the crosswalk
- Extend curbs
- Add ADA ramps
- Remove some parking spaces on Howard Place to help improve driver visibility
Jacobson just wishes these changes were done sooner, before a life was lost.
RELATED: Howard University faculty member involved in deadly crash outside dorm
"I’m frustrated that yet another person has died. This was an intersection that DDOT knew was an issue and had on their list to address and it took someone dying before they ended up addressing it," Jacobson said.
Jacobson says these changes are good for Howard’s campus but added that more needs to be done on Georgia Avenue and throughout the city to make the roads safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians.
"Ward 1 is one of the most dense parts of the city. Within this area, roughly 45 percent of people do not use a vehicle on a day-to-day basis," Jacobson said. "The bus lines 70 and 79 are the most prominent in D.C. and have a lot of commuters and I just want to make the city safer for people who are getting around the city and not have to worry about their loved ones being killed by a reckless driver."
Jacobson says the work should start soon and be done in two months.
FOX 5 reached out to DDOT for a better idea of the timeline and when we can expect them to complete the work.
An agency spokesperson provided comment Thursday, saying:
"Every traffic death is a tragedy. Across the District's wide array of transportation safety initiatives, DDOT seeks to make as much positive impact as quickly as possible, targeting locations where data shows the highest risk. Each year, DDOT addresses 900+ dangerous locations, including 24 locations since 2021 in Ward 1 through the high-priority Annual Safety Program specifically. Data from this intersection showed a lower risk than many other intersections, leading to the prioritization of other critical safety projects. Even so, this intersection was expedited for protective improvements, and expedited again following this tragic crash. DDOT remains committed to the implementation of protective measures across the District and the goal of Vision Zero."