At a busy crosswalk on Dundalk Avenue, a memorial has sprouted in tribute to a bubbly little girl who loved to bike through the neighborhood and as a reminder of the risk that nearby residents and passers-by say they have long feared at the intersection.
The pile of stuffed animals, cards, flowers and candles on the median strip at Dundalk Avenue and Center Place marks the spot where, six days ago, 12-year-old Corrine Ashley Roth was hit by a van and killed. The Dundalk Middle School seventh-grader, who was not wearing a helmet, had been riding her bike from her home to the adult day care center where her mother worked.
"It is a dangerous intersection. We've always had problems with that intersection," said Ralph Wickes, 61, who has lived in the area for 21 years and uses the crosswalk several times a day as he goes between his apartment on the west side of Dundalk Avenue and the shopping area across the street.
The problem, residents say, is the configuration of the divided, four-lane thoroughfare - Dundalk Avenue - and the crosswalk and flashing red light at Center Place near Dundalk Veterans Park.
Coming from the west side of Dundalk Avenue, drivers on Center Place can only turn right onto the avenue, forcing them to look left for oncoming traffic. But the crosswalk is to the right of the intersection, and motorists don't always check that direction before pulling out into traffic and sometimes into the path of pedestrians, residents say.
The flashing red light at Dundalk Avenue on Center Place turns solid red, prohibiting all turns, when pedestrians are granted the go-ahead by the crosswalk signal.
"It's confusing," Wickes said. "Drivers come to the intersection and see something that's not cut-and-dried; that's an opportunity to shave a few points and get on their way."
Corrine was killed about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, when she was struck by a delivery company van driven by Gregory Eldridge, 50, of Baltimore. No charges have been filed, and police are investigating the accident.
It was the third accident at the intersection this year, according to Officer Shawn Vinson, a spokesman with Baltimore County police. There were two accidents - neither fatal - at the crosswalk last year.
The entire county stretch of Dundalk Avenue saw 31 accidents last year, and 22 so far this year, Vinson said.
