Family, neighbors and city respond to fatal Northshore crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The fallout continues from the deadly crash that claimed the life of two pedestrians on Saturday on the Chattanooga Northshore.

News 12 is now hearing from family and friends of the deceased, both here and from their home in Jacksonville, Florida.

One relative, Adolpho Deliva Paz, told the Chattanooga City Council, “You have the power to honor my family. You have the power to prevent other accidents.”

41-year-old Anna Posso Rodriguez and one-year-old Jonathan Deliva, the victims who passed away from Saturday’s crash on Frazier Avenue after being struck as pedestrians. (Courtesy: GoFundMe)

The pain of the sudden loss of one-year-old Jonathan Deliva and Anna Posso Rodriguez, and the injuries to Octavio Delvia Paz, who remains in a local hospital, was clear in the voice of Paz.

It was clear the pain was shared by their neighbors they had back in Jacksonville.

One neighbor, Bre Robinson, said, “The kid would always come towards me on his little scooter, and she would always smile and just wave.”

Another neighbor, Wesley Harris, “And honestly I felt they were family to me. You know they did things for me; I had a doctor’s appointment, she gave me money and told me you don’t have to pay it back.”

Chattanooga City Council members weighed in on the topic in front of a packed house Tuesday evening.

This included the councilperson for the district where the incident occurred, Jenny Hill.

She said, “This is an opportunity for this council to begin having a more modern conversation about multi-modal transportation and protection of pedestrians.”

In one impassioned moment, Chattanooga City Councilman Darren Ledford expressed his frustrations with what he sees as a lack of proper driving etiquette in Chattanooga. 

He said, “I think we should all be pretty ticked at how people do drive and behave around our city and that’s what we can help control. Yeah, I’m real full of it right now to be honest with you.”

A Chattanooga City Spokesperson did send us a statement on their response to the crash.

They said,

  “Like all of our residents, I am concerned about the increased number of pedestrian fatalities we’ve experienced this year. My administration is committed to reversing this sad trend using a combination of data-informed tactical interventions at pedestrian hotspots, roadway design improvements, and traffic enforcement. I do think it’s important to note that Saturday’s tragic incident is an extreme outlier compared to the other pedestrian fatalities we’ve seen this year: The out-of-state driver in this case was seemingly impaired, driving recklessly, and rammed the vehicle into another before losing control into a sidewalk and a building, killing two visitors to our city, including a child, and leaving a third family member injured.

Since this incident, the Chattanooga Police Department has been engaging in preventive patrols along Frazier Avenue and Cherokee Boulevard to deter the most abundant complaint we get about that stretch of road: Speeding. In response to the speeding issue more broadly, we have installed 61 speed cushions (temp speed bumps) throughout the city so far this year.

As far as design and tactical interventions, projects like the reconfiguration of Central Ave. that is underway right now are specifically designed to calm traffic and to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Other projects in the same vein are in queue. CDOT has put down 575 miles of new thermal lines and markings this year alone to make crosswalks more visible to drivers and safer for pedestrians. More than 100 new ADA ramps will have been installed by the end of the year.

Bottom line is that we are taking action to make our streets safer and will continue to do what is necessary to reverse the trend. There are additional options in the traffic calming toolbox – bollards, curb extensions, solar-powered signage, reconfigurations, chicanes, etc. – and our folks at CDOT, RPA, and in my office are working together to determine how and where some of them might be quickly deployed here.”

Paz hopes city leaders keep those we lost Saturday in mind.

He said, “The reason my family chose to spend their holidays here is because Chattanooga reminds them of our country. Chattanooga has a beautiful landscape because you have those beautiful mountains.”