Fatal accident leads residents to create stop light petition

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - A 16-year-old Rockford East student athlete is killed in a car accident after leaving football practice and now residents who live near the intersection of Broadway and 24th street are asking for change, and the mayor has already taken notice.

Rockford parents created a petition asking the city to install a stop light at the intersection where Mason Hada was hit and killed. That petition now has more than a thousand signatures and comments from people who say, “This ones for Mason” or even “I have kids at East High School and I don’t want another tragic accident to happen.”

“Right now there’s so many people heartbroken because of one man’s decision and that’s insane,” said Alannah Beaman, classmate of Mason Hada.

Alannah and her mother Gretchen believe the man who hit and killed Mason Hada was speeding down Broadway before colliding into the 16-year-old’s car. They support an on-going petition asking the city of Rockford to install a stop light at the intersection of Broadway and 24th street.

“The posted speed limit is 35,” said Gretchen Beaman. “I don’t think anyone goes below 50, I think 50′s pretty much the normal speed limit. We don’t have a light from, if you go from 20th street to East Gate Parkway, it’s pretty long strip.”

The petition was created by Rockford parents who want to protect their children from getting into accidents. Beaman says parents should never have to worry about the safety of their children coming home from school.

“When a kid can’t even walk to school or drive home from school from practice, somewhere that he’s supposed to be and innocently going home from school, how can, you know, when you know that that’s what Broadway is like,” said Gretchen Beaman. “How can you feel safe with your kid going to and from school.”

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara was alerted to the petition shortly after it was created. He said city officials are swiftly looking into a solution for the intersection.

“It’ll be fast tracked, they’re reviewing it right now for a history of traffic accidents, they’re gonna be reviewing it for a speed study and potentially a signal study as well so we’ve heard that call, it’s something that our staff is jumping on right away,” said McNamara.

Beaman feels Broadway could really use more than one stop light but if the city can install at least one it will be safer for students going to and from Rockford East High School.

McNamara says as a father himself, his heart goes out to the Hada family for their loss. He says the city will work to fix the issue as soon as possible.

Copyright 2021 WIFR. All rights reserved.