‘It’s a dangerous stretch of road’: Second deadly hit-and-run on SW Hall Blvd. in just over a week
By Drew Marine
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BEAVERTON, Oregon (KPTV) — Early Tuesday morning, Beaverton police said they responded to a hit-and-run at Southwest Hall Boulevard and Farmington Road that killed an elderly woman.
They said callers reported a red SUV hit the woman while she was in the crosswalk and the driver didn’t stop to check if she was okay.
Tragically, this isn’t the first hit and run on SW Hall Road, which stretches from Beaverton to Tigard.
On March 4, 57-year-old Karen Kain was also hit and killed by a driver on SW Hall Road and Lucille Court, less than five miles away. Kain’s mother was hit that night too and she was hospitalized.
“First it’s shock, but then, seeing as I’m a neighbor and drive on Hall Boulevard all the time, it’s a dangerous stretch of road,” Julie Zamudio, said.
Zamudio was Karen Kain’s friend and neighbor, the two bonded over their shared musical talents. She was sad to hear what happened to Kain and wishes the Oregon Department of Transportation would do more to improve safety.
“First of all, have some lights, both streetlights and cross lights. Have some crosswalks there and enforce the speed limit, you know, possibly supported by one of those speed limit cameras,” Zamudio said.
Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty is in Washington, D.C. and said she’s asking for federal funding for the Beaverton Loop Project, which aims to improve biking and walking on SW Hall Boulevard and SW Watson Avenue in downtown Beaverton. They hope to focus on lowering the speed there among other things.
However, Beaty said they can only do so much because the road is in ODOT’s jurisdiction.
“We’re the ones getting complaints about the road, the speed. These other jurisdictions aren’t,” Beaty said. “We have to have willing partnership with our jurisdictions to be able to do this. I’m devastated that two deaths in one week on this road, when we’ve been talking for years about safety improvements and the need to do them.”
FOX 12 reached out to ODOT Tuesday night for a comment on their plans to improve safety on this road, but no one was available to provide one.
If you spot the red SUV or know anything about Tuesday’s hit-and-run, you’re asked to call Beaverton police.
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