SAN ANTONIO – Tattered crime scene tape still hangs on Southeast Military Drive telephone poles, showing where deadly crashes have happened.
In the last month, there have been two deadly crashes involving pedestrians between Old Corpus Christi Road and South Presa Street. Now, people living nearby are calling for change.
“It’s ridiculous,” Jesse Espitia said. “They (city leaders) don’t hear the outcries of the community here.”
Jesse lost his sister, Jeanette, and her unborn child three weeks ago. She had gotten off the bus and was trying to cross Southeast Military Drive at night on Aug. 21 when she was hit and killed. KSAT covered a vigil held for her on Aug. 26.
Hours later, in the early morning of Aug. 27, San Antonio police said a 28-year-old man was hit and seriously injured while trying to cross Southeast Military Drive. On Monday, KSAT confirmed he died in the hospital.
Police and the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as Noah Patterson.
“I knew it was going to keep happening, but I didn’t think it was going to happen this close,” Jesse said. “I’m going to fight for my sister and Noah and the baby.”
It’s unlikely the driver in either case will face charges. Neither Espitia nor Patterson was crossing in a designated area. But Jesse says there’s a reason why.
“It’s broken,” he said, referring to the crosswalk and flashing light that Public Works added back in 2019 to help with safety concerns in the area. The crosswalk was paid for through the city’s Vision Zero program, managed by the Texas Department of Transportation.
On Monday, KSAT tried to use the crosswalk. While the flashing light works to get south across the street, trying to go north, one of the poles with a button to signal the lights is completely missing.
Commuter Christopher Arrington said it’s been that way for weeks. KSAT saw him dodging cars to get to the bus stop from work.
“I would have pressed the button, but I knew it was not going to work anyway,” he said. “I don’t have no other option.”
KSAT met with District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran about the pedestrian concerns on Southeast Military Drive.
“We just have this happening throughout the district,” she said. “We’re really trying to push forward and see if we can get resolutions through the Transportation Department, with TxDOT.”
Southeast Military Drive is a TxDOT road. A spokesperson for San Antonio’s Public Works department said the city has to “get approval” from TxDOT before adding “any new pedestrian amenities or traffic signals.”
A TxDOT spokesperson told KSAT “the signals and crosswalks are maintained by the City of San Antonio.”
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