BOSTON — Neighbors in Hyde Park are pushing for safety changes by Washington Street after the deadly school bus accident that killed a young boy Monday.
“It’s one of those situations where we have to act now so that parents feel safe when they’re sending their kids to and from school,” said Enrique Pepen, the Boston City Councilor who represents this district.
Pepen says his heart breaks for the family of Lens Arthur Joseph, the five-year-old killed Monday when he was struck by a school bus.
Now Pepen is urging other city leaders to find ways to make these streets safer.
“It’s all about talking with the transportation department, the engineers, what makes sense to make it safer, do we add speed humps to Washington Street?”
The cause of the deadly crash is still under investigation, and it’s still unclear whether speed was a factor, but witnesses say Lens was found on Washington Street after he was hit by the bus.
He was right across the street from his home.
“How’d this happen because it’s the bus driver drop him off hit him, how’d this happen?” said Remercie Edmond, the victim’s great-aunt.
The family wants answers as they mourn the loss of their little boy.
A memorial of flowers, candles and stuffed animals was placed outside their home.
“He’s a happy boy, very intelligent boy, yeah, make everybody happy and he’s going to be missed, it’s a big loss for the family,” said Edmond.
“Even if you don’t have kids, you will still feel something about it because he’s a human being,” said Marie, a neighbor who came to lay flowers.
As the Hyde Park community comes together to support the victim’s family, Pepen hopes this tragedy serves as a reminder to everyone to slow down, especially when kids are heading home from school.
“Sometimes we can install tons of speed humps, tons of stop signs, but it’s us behind the wheels – and the rhetoric I’m hearing a lot of is there’s speeding concerns, but at the end of the day it’s up to us if we slow down,” said Pepen.
The community is planning a vigil to honor Lens Thursday night around 5:30 p.m. at the park on Washington Street near his home.
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