Frequent tragedies near bus accident

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) -- A man was struck and killed by a bus in New Britain and it's not the first time someone has been hit and killed at this spot.

"I was in the back of the bus," Jasmine said.

Jasmine is only 7-year-old. She saw the tragic accident but doesn't want to talk about it. Not only did she watch 81-year-old Charles Mercurio get hit by the bus but they were neighbors as well.

"When you heard about the accident," News 8's Bob Wilson said.

"Oh, I was very sad. Very sad," Yolanda Vaquez said. "You know, I'm afraid because that's the bus stop that I have for my grand daughter, so I was nervous and I was like oh my god you saw everything and she said yeah, but I was crying inside the bus."

The school bus hit the pedestrian at an intersection with a street light and just a block and a half down on North St. is a memorial for another fatal accident.

It says RIP Jackson, a 17-year-old was hit and struck by a driver who took off while he was crossing the street.

Police have been working with the neighborhood and town hall to make this intersection safer and now people unnerved, just a couple months later another accident happens just a couple of blocks up.

A mother mourning the loss of her son Jackson DeJesus, a traffic cam caught the hit and run but the driver has not been caught and while police are still searching for the suspect, alderwoman and crossing guard Shirley Black wonders what more can be done. There are lights and stop signs and still North Street continues to have fatal accidents.

"It's a hazard, it's a hazard. It's lucky that we really haven't had worse incidents here," Black said.