An elderly woman was seriously injured this Wednesday, around 9:45 a.m., after being run over for a large van at the pedestrian crossing of the El Corte Inglés roundabout, on Tirant lo Blanc street in Elche. The victim was treated at the scene by emergency services and taken by ambulance to a hospital, according to official sources.
They traveled to the place several local police patrolswho collected testimonies from witnesses and workers in the area – it is the entrance and opening time of the popular shopping center -, in addition to the health personnel who intervened in the rescue.
The accident occurred at the El Corte Inglés roundabout in Elche around 9:45 in the morning / Áxel Álvarez
A black dot next to the Tirant lo Blanc institute
The accident occurred in a busy pedestrian crossingespecially early in the morning, since it is located in front of the Tirant lo Blanc institute, an area where hundreds of students, families and workers from the surrounding area come together every day.
“It is a very dangerous point. The cars pass very quickly and many times we cross with fear,” explains a resident of the area who witnessed the police intervention. “Myself and many co-workers have been in trouble more than once.”, he adds.
When parents of students at the institute were consulted, they agreed in their concern about lack of police control during peak hours of entry and exit to Tirant lo Blanc. “What they should do is put an agent regulating traffic first and last thing in the morning, just like what is done in schools. More than a thousand kids enter here every morning,” claims one mother.
Neighborhood complaints about a troublesome roundabout
The El Corte Inglés roundaboutwhich connects with the Tirant lo Blanc, concentrates a high volume of traffic and several pedestrian crossings in a small space. In the area there are the shopping center itself, the institute, a school and several restaurants, which increases both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. It is a conflictive area on which the City Council wants to act, especially to avoid crowds, but also, the roundabout in question, due to its large size, usually registers accidents and other problems due to the high speed that can be reached there.
Parents from the Tirant lo Blanc Institute in Elche assure that vehicles in the area pick up a lot of speed / Áxel Álvarez
“It is a complicated roundabout, the cars pick up a lot of speed”, point out the neighbors, who remember other recent incidents in the same environment, including the hit by a motorist months ago.
Although traffic cameras have been installed in the area in recent weeks, users report that measures remain insufficient. complain more police presence and road awareness campaignsespecially during peak student hours.
Call for prudence
The educational community and residents hope that the event serve as a turning point. “We cannot wait for more accidents to come up with solutions”warns a mother.
The event has reopened the debate on safety in school environments and institutes, where every day thousands of young people cross pedestrian crossings that, like Tirant lo Blanc, become traps when there is a lack of surveillance or when speed is more important than caution. Because, as the neighbors remember, “This is not the first time this has happened, and I hope it is the last.”.
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