PHOENIX — Beatrice X. Johnson somehow brings herself to visit the intersection that changed her life.
"It's been really hard for my family," Beatrice told 12News in mid-October.
She's been to Phoenix from her home in California a handful of times since April 2022, when her older sister Dorothy was struck and killed crossing 32nd Street at the Yale Street intersection. She visits the park up the block where her sister was reportedly living. She's also been working with an attorney and now plans to sue the City of Phoenix for $10 million over her sister's death.
"There has to be accountability," she said.
The crash
Dorothy Dale-Chambers and her boyfriend, Joseph Gutierrez, were struck and killed by a truck on April 26 as they were crossing 32nd Street at the Yale Street intersection, about a quarter mile south of Thomas Road.
"We did a welfare check every week," Beatrice explained to 12News over the summer. "And my niece went to go check on her. And that's how we found out she had been killed. And she was laying in the morgue for eight days."
Investigation records indicate witnesses felt the truck driver was going too fast. The driver told police that he didn't see the couple crossing the road. The police report shows the driver stayed on the scene and tried to help.
The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.031, which is below the legal limit, and has never faced any charges. Phoenix police said in an email at the end of August that the driver did not show signs and symptoms consistent with impairment and that the case is still under investigation, pending reconstruction review.
The intersection at Yale and 32nd streets technically is a crosswalk. When 12News went to the scene in early August, we saw paint on the road and one sign on the ground and another that appeared to be blocked by leaves. There weren't any crosswalk lights and when people tried to cross during rush hour, cars didn't stop.
'High-density crash zone'
The city’s known since at least May 2020, before Dorothy and Joseph died, that 32nd Street between McDowell and Thomas Roads is considered a high-density crash zone, according to the City's Key Corridor's Master Plan from May 2020.
In December 2020, Phoenix put out a call for bids to work on four different crosswalk projects across the city, including the intersection at Yale and 32nd streets.
The Phoenix City Council approved a contractor to do the work in April 2021.
And all four signal projects were supposed to be completed by the end of May 2022, according to the work contract. But that didn't happen.
And at the end of July 2022, the contractor requested an extension to Sept. 12, 2022, blaming supply chain issues.
The city signed off on the extension Aug. 3, 2022. At that time, only one of the four crosswalk projects was finished, according to signal activation dates.
At the end of September, the City said the signal at the Yale and 32nd Streets crosswalk was activated. Two of the other four crosswalk projects are still not finished, but they are expected to be completed by the end of November.
Notice of Claim served
A city spokesperson confirmed the city received the Notice of Claim, a document filed before a lawsuit, for this case last week and said they could not comment on any pending litigation.
Phoenix police did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday, but in August told 12News the investigation was still pending.
No charges have been filed against the driver in the crash.
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