CINCINNATI, Ohio— Drive like your kids live here. We all see the neighborhood signs, but not every driver pays attention to them. In Cincinnati, parents and neighbors are coming together, pleading for drivers to slow down after another child was hit.
What You Need To Know
- Maslow’s Army and Slow Down Cincinnati gathered where 15-year-old Gabby Rodriguez was struck and killed by a car almost two years ago
- Gabby was crossing the street to catch a bus to school when the car hit her. The driver has still not been identified
- The groups are asking for a sidewalk with blinking lights for a safer crossing area as well as to remember Gabby by
“I miss her laugh,” Shawna Rodriguez says of her daughter Gabby that was struck and killed by a car almost two years ago. “I miss her smile.”
Shawna misses her daughter Gabby everyday. Gabby was just 15 when she was struck and killed by a car on her way to catching the bus almost two years ago.
“A tragedy occurred here,” Brian Garry the chair of Just Slow Down Cincinnati. “And what makes it even more tragic is that is was avoidable.”
That’s why Slow Down Cincinnati and Maslow’s Army came together at the place where Gabby was killed to call for change.
“I would love a crosswalk here,” Shawna says. “And I would like flashing lights. Not only as a safety measure but as a symbol that Gabby’s life meant something and she didn’t die for nothing.”
“This is near and dear to my heart,” Garry said. “We have to systemically change how our streets are engineered. But we also have to immediately respond to situations as they happen.”
The rally comes just weeks after 9-year-old Matthew Garza was hit on another neighborhood street. Fortunately, he survived, but his mother came to show support to Gabby’s family.
“It’s a shame that mothers connect by a hit and run,” Shawna said. “We should just connect because we have similar interests not because our kids were hit.”
Shawna says Gabby was loud and rambunctious, a girl with some serious talent on the softball diamond. They just hope her story will help another child from getting struck by a car.
“Sunday’s were softball days for Gabby,” Shawna said. “Now they’re cemetery days. It’s heart wrenching. I miss her.”
