Yesterday a tragic accident occurred in a west Charlotte neighborhood that has the community mourning the loss of two of its children. A collection of the children’s artwork and teddy bears were placed at the scene as a memorial.
Bothers Kadrien Pendergrass and Jeremy Brewton made a quarter-mile walk with their father every day from their west Charlotte home to their daycare center. On the day of the accident, they were traveling their usual route down West Tyvola toward Shady Lane. The family was walking along the edge of the roadway, Kadrien pushing his brother Jeremy in his stroller and their father pushing their baby sister in another stroller. When the family reached the intersection of West Tyvola and Shady Lane they were struck by a Sears truck attempting to turn right on West Tyvola.
The boys’ father and infant sister were not seriously injured, however, the boys lay motionless on the ground. In a panic, the boys’ father screamed for help and neighbors came to the scene to offer their assistance. The boys were taken to CMC but later died from their injuries. The driver of the truck was arrested and will be charged with two counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
This tragic accident has brought to light a serious problem that residents of this west Charlotte neighborhood have been complaining about for some time. Residents describe this section of road the family walked as treacherous. West Tyvola is a particularly busy cut-through between West Boulevard and Tyvola Road where residents say cars and trucks often speed, despite a speed limit of 35 mph. To make matters worse, there are no sidewalks for about a tenth of a mile, even though residents say two school bus stops are nearby and pedestrians regularly use the road to get to a nearby Family Dollar store or the West Boulevard branch of the public library.
Residents say they have called city-county service lines to voice their complaints, but nothing has been done. According to city transportation department spokeswoman Linda Durrett, the city agrees that this stretch of West Tyvola from Old Steele Creek Road to West Boulevard is dangerous and needs a sidewalk. However, the city says they currently do not have money in the budget for such a project.
