By Ethan Benedicto and Cam Lucadou-Wells
In light of a tragic incident last week that resulted in the death of a young child, residents are calling for safety upgrades on an 80km/h road section in Endeavour Hills.
Mila, 3, was critically injured when struck at a signalised pedestrian crossing on Heatherton Road, near the corner of James Cook Drive about 8.30am on Thursday 17 October.
Her grieving mother Wenna Lin posted on a social media group: “I can see Mila’s face looking so worried every time I close my eyes. I know she didn’t do anything wrong… Mummy is here for you. Love you Mila.”
A 24-year-old Endeavour Hills man, Kamal Ghali, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death as well as dangerous driving causing serious injury since the incident.
Melinda Ambros, an independent Casey Council election candidate for Kalora Ward, told Star News that action should be taken to prevent any future incidents, from initiatives such as “safer traffic light setups, speed reduction measures and better signage”.
Ambros also added that the steep hill encouraged speeding for Dandenong-bound traffic, with the traffic lights malfunctioning a week prior to the incident a telling indication of the road’s dangers.
Andrew Brasilis, from Endeavour Hills Chiropractor, echoed the same sentiments, agreeing that more should be done in consideration of the children at nearby primary schools, as well as the general public.
“I would say that there is an accident every month on this road, so that’s a red flag for me,” Brasilis said.
“The other point is that on the pedestrian crossing. They were running lollipop people up until this year, and then they took them out, and that’s staggering to me.
“Chalcot Lodge (primary school) is a busy school, and to get there, everyone that lives on the other side obviously has to cross the road, and we’re talking a lot of primary school-aged children that are unaccompanied.”
The City of Casey’s CEO, Glenn Patterson offered his condolences to Mila’s family, saying that the council is committed to keeping communities safe, especially around schools.
“We have several road safety programs in place to educate our community, including our road safety education program and Safe Around Schools [which] is specifically designed to support school communities across Casey.
“Council is committed to improving road safety and will continue to advocate the State Government for reduced speed zones, better pedestrian sequencing (time allowed for pedestrians to cross) and red and speed light cameras where there are large numbers of school student pedestrians,” Patterson said.
However, Brasilis said that in the 35 years of operation in the intersection of James Cook Drive and Heatherton Road, he has seen his fair share of accidents in what he called a troubling “black spot”.
While admitting that the most recent incident is the only pedestrian collision he has heard of, he said it’s not uncommon for vehicle-to-vehicle crashes to occur.
“Something should be done, the population has increased, the density in this area has increased and nothing’s happened,” he said.
The intersection of James Cook Drive and Heatherton Road is situated at the bottom of two hills, a topographical trait that both Ambros and Brasilis said makes for a dangerous location when it comes to drivers’ speeds when moving downhill.
Ambros said that the local community has asked for a dedicated traffic light, design changes for safer crossings, a supervised crossing guard and more, adding that “we’re not just asking for improvements, we’re asking for life-saving measures”.
To Brasilis, with schools in the vicinity, the area’s accident-prone nature and the most recent incident, action needs to be taken.
“It’s a crossing for kids, it needs to be improved, and now we’re paying the price,” he said.
The Department of Transport and Planning is supporting a police investigation into the incident, and says it’s inappropriate to comment further at this time.
“Any life lost on our roads is a tragedy,” a department spokesperson said.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this devastating incident, especially family members and friends.”
