'People are not paying attention;' Family of man killed on Rivermont wants safer streets
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) -- A 24-year-old was hit and killed in the 2100 block of Rivermont Avenue Friday night.
Many say the incident that killed Ryan Massie didn't have to happen.
The nearest crosswalks are blocks away from where he was hit.
The Massie family said creating more crosswalks is just one safety measure that could be taken so no other family has to go through this.
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"My son was a loving caring person," Selena Blankenship said of Massie. "He would rather give to others than to take himself. We communicated daily whether it was via text or calling I always heard from him on a daily basis."
But Friday night was different, when a driver hit and killed Massie on Rivermont Avenue.
"These have been the hardest days of my entire life," Blankenship said. "It's just incomprehensible the loss I feel."
Lynchburg Police report they have responded to 122 accidents along Rivermont since January 1, 2017.
Now, Blankenship is asking the city to make some changes.
"We know we have a small cluster of crashes at Rivermont in the Rivermont and Bedford area," City Transportation Engineer, Donald Deberry, said.
He said the city is working to add safety measures to several areas in Lynchburg, but where the accident happened is not one of them.
The Massie family said the city should focus on Rivermont.
"At night there's not enough lighting," Blankenship said. "I don't know if lowering the speed limit from 35 to 25 would help."
She said lives are on the line.
"I think that we are having far too many accidents because people are not paying attention," she said.
The Massie family said that in lieu of flowers, they want people to donate to the local skate park of Humane Society in Ryan Massie's honor.
