POWAY, Calif. (KGTV) — A Poway community continues to mourn the loss of 69-year-old Grace Uyeki who was killed by a driver while crossing the street on Saturday.
"Everybody in the whole community knew her," said Debbie Barton, a friend of Grace's. "She was full of joy she had so many plans for retirement."
On Monday, neighbors spoke with 10News — raising concerns about safety in the area.
Jose Serrano says his wife was almost hit by a car in the same spot. “They didn’t even stop. Just going across this same intersection…it’s just scary sometimes."
Just one block up the road, there is another memorial for a motorcyclist who was parked on the side of the road and killed by a driver under the influence.
Neighbors say something needs to change — whether it’s a stop light, speed bumps, a roundabout, etc. They say they want added safety measures to ensure drivers stay alert and slow down.
10News reached out to the city of Poway to see if officials plan to re-evaluate the road's safety. They replied with a statement:
"Regarding the pedestrian fatality on Saturday morning, this intersection has not been previously identified as a location of concern within our city. In regards to traffic safety, residents are able to report concerns to our Traffic Engineering division or request additional traffic enforcement from the Sheriff’s Poway Station. We have detailed information on our website for community members, including how they can reach out with their concerns: poway.org/traffic-safety."
Debbie Barton says she has sent letters to the city to express their concerns about speed and safety in their neighborhood.
"Pedestrians are supposed to have the right of way in a crosswalk and it’s not being observed," she said.
Barton added the community now plans to start a petition hoping to prevent this from happening again.
"Nothing will bring her back. But if we don’t do anything then we’ve really let her down," she said.
