The crash occurred Dec. 21 when a 2008 maroon Pontiac Torrent traveling south on River Road went left-of-center, heading into oncoming traffic to pass three vehicles.
Coming back into the southbound lanes, the Torrent struck a curb and overcorrected, going left of center and colliding head-on with a 2008 Honda Civic that was traveling north.
Killed in the crash were the Honda Civic’s occupants: Milton Alvarez Lagos, 35; Bety Salazar Lopez, 27; and Milton Salazar Alvarez, 10.
The Civic then struck a detached garage in the 300 block of Hooven Avenue before hitting a fence in the 300 block of Clinton Avenue.
The Torrent spun and struck a 2002 Ford F-150. The driver of that vehicle not injured.
The speedometer of the Torrent was “stuck at 80 mph,” according to the report. The posted speed in this area is 35 mph.
The crash has upset Lindenwald residents, who say there are numerous accidents and constant speed violations along that stretch of River Road.
Among those residents is Frank Downie, chairman of the neighborhood group PROTOCOL, People Reaching Out To Others Celebrate Our Lindenwald.
Downie told Journal-News that he and four residents living at the crash site met Jan. 10 with City Councilmember Carla Fiehrer.
“In light of the two triple-fatality accidents since 2011, and the multiple other accidents that have occurred around the curve on the Hooven and River Road area, we as citizens in this community are determined to make this area safer,” said Lisa Schindler, who lives at the intersection of Hooven Avenue and River Road.
She said PROTOCOL plans to meet Feb. 16 to discuss ideas and form a task force.
“We need to work together to make a difference in this community and to protect life and property in the future,” Schindler said.
Downie, who said he typically opts for driving Ohio 127 instead of River Road because “I don’t like cars coming at me,” told council members “the only thing we can fix is a road and a curve.
“We can’t fix stupid,” he said. “If people are going to drive 80 miles an hour, 110 miles an hour, pass three cars on double yellow lines, we can’t stop that. So, let’s forget about trying to fix stupid and just work on what we can work on.”
Downie told Journal-News on Wednesday, that he has since heard back from City Engineer Allen Messer, that he and Scott Hoover, Hamilton’s traffic operation manager, have spoken and will address the Feb. 16 PROTOCOL meeting.
“I’ve worked with all these people in the past on different issues, and I’m pretty sure we can come up with something that give us all a little more peace of mind,” Downie told council.
City Manager Craig Bucheit said that Hamilton police have increased traffic and speed enforcement on River Road and the neighborhood, including speed‑warning signs and patrol presence.
Bucheit said the city is reviewing suggestions from recent community meetings.
“Our philosophy has long been now to focus on those high-visibility, high-violation, high-volume corridors because we know that people that are speeding in an egregious manner that they don’t wait until they get onto Hooven Avenue or some side street in a neighborhood … to be reckless," Bucheit said. “They’re usually traveling at those kind of speeds. They’re being reckless from point A to point B and we have a much better chance to deter them, to get them stopped and intervene in those high-volume, high-visibility, high-violation corridors, so we’re going to continue to do that and look forward to meeting with everyone in February.”
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