A crash in South El Monte last night that sent several people to the hospital, including an infant, has renewed calls from residents for speed bumps and stop signs to help slow the traffic on Parkway Drive.
Marisa Contreras recalled another terrible accident a few years ago, on the northern end of the street.
"The whole family died in an accident because two cars were racing and the van was on fire," she said. A 2-month-old baby was among those killed in that crash.
The similarity of last night's crash to the tragedy of a few years ago led neighbors to once again call for the city to take action on a street known for fast drivers.
"It was bad. All I heard was a really loud crash," Perla Contreras recalled.
It was late Sunday night when a driver lost control and hit two parked cars, including a white van carrying a family, which ended up flipped onto its side.
"The back street I think they go pretty fast because they don't want to go on the avenue, they want to speed race," said Fabiola Valera, another South El Monte resident.
Parkway Drive resident Sylvia Galvez said it's dangerous for everyone because there are a lot of children and cyclists on this street. She has seen three serious accidents in the two years she's lived here.
“It's very easy to race in these streets because there's no speed bumps here so they feel like it's easy,” she said.
Speed bumps were added to the north end of Parkway Drive after the fatal accident several years ago, but residents say they need to be installed on the entire street.
"They should definitely put more speed bumps and stop signs, a lot more because without them, they keep racing, they don't care," Galvez said.
