Over the past year there has been an increase in hit and run accidents, especially in the Cincinnati Entertainment District.

Amanda “Mandy” Weyant-Ferguson was the latest victim of a hit and run in this district.

She was hit on Thanksgiving morning at 1:45 a.m. when someone driving a car ran a red light while she was using the crosswalk.

Eastwood Heights Elementary, where she was a 6th grade teacher for the past 5 years, held a vigil for her in honor of her death and all she had done for the school.

The father of Weyant-Ferguson, Dan Ferguson, is calling for action, he is tired of these accidents and does not want to see anyone else hurt.

“It’s exactly two weeks to the day since my daughter died and that pain is permanent.

There needs to be a permanent solution to this Mesa area,” said Dan Ferguson.

He is asking that the city make safety improvements at this intersection where many have been hit by cars in the last decade.

He said, “Something needs to be done quickly before someone else dies”.

The Cincinnati District was recently renovated to make it a more entertainment friendly environment; however, at the time of reconstruction people were wary about the safety issues being unattended.

This renovation may be why there has been an increase in accidents because it made the sidewalks and crosswalks more visible and people are now taking action to keep others safe.

There is much traffic in this area and because it gets highly populated at times accidents begin occurring.

Recently, residents organized a meeting where they asked for more police, sidewalk improvements and barriers that rise when pedestrians are on the crosswalk.

They also suggested closing North Mesa Street to traffic, similar to the closure of Austin’s famed Sixth Street, which anchors an entertainment district in that city.

The city has recently stated that they are planning on saving thousands of dollars to fix the safety issues.

In the mean time there will be an increase in police working overtime to secure the area.

A public meeting about the safety that needs to be taken at this intersection took place on December 19.

With many restaurants and bars in this area it gets very crowded, especially when there are events taking place at UTEP.

Citizens are asked to be very careful when attending functions or eating in this area because of the past accidents.