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Public grief and calls for street safety follow death of 11-year-old in Henrico
Summary
Multiple residents urged immediate pedestrian-safety measures after an 11-year-old girl was killed on 3 Chopped Road; callers pushed for lower speed limits, crosswalks, raised islands, sidewalks and an independent safety audit. Board members pledged to prioritize improvements while memorializing the child.
Residents filled the public-comment period Aug. 26 to press Henrico County officials for faster safety fixes after the recent death of an 11-year-old on 3 Chopped Road.
Ian Trapp urged the board to treat the road’s design as a primary factor in the crash and asked for three immediate steps: lower the speed limit on the stretch between Perham and Forest Avenue to 25 mph; commission an independent safety audit of the corridor; and pursue infrastructure changes such as lane reductions, raised and lit crosswalks, expedited sidewalk completion and dedicated bike lanes. Trapp said the stretch serves three schools with more than 3,500 students and described existing sidewalks and sightlines as inadequate.
Other speakers described related safety concerns and broader approaches. Eugene Kevinson and his daughter recounted unequal walking and biking access at Shady Grove Elementary and said the school no longer provides a crossing guard for some approaches; nurse and longtime resident Kaye Carrithers urged low-cost, near-term measures—painted crosswalks, signage and a public-safety campaign—while noting the Henrico Pulse bus rapid transit project won’t be complete until 2029. Jennifer Lieberman linked the crash to the county’s car-dependent infrastructure and advocated moving toward different modes of transport.
One speaker, Paul Momquist, said the victim might have survived if she had worn a helmet; that remark drew immediate rebuke from board members who called the comment inappropriate so soon after the fatality. Several supervisors acknowledged the grief of the community, described recent staff conversations with the police and Virginia Department of Transportation (V-DOT) about state-maintained roads, and reiterated a commitment to pursue safety improvements and funding options.
Board members explicitly asked staff and the police department to meet with residents and to pursue short-term interventions while pursuing longer-term design changes. Staff and supervisors said some roads implicated in recent pedestrian accidents are state-maintained and that discussions have been initiated about potential county takeover or compensation arrangements with the Commonwealth.
The board closed the meeting by again honoring the child’s name and promising additional work on pedestrian safety.
