Traffic Study Planned On Road Where Dakota High School Student Was Killed

MACOMB TOWNSHIP, MI — A Dakota High School student's tragic death has sparked a traffic study to gauge safety and road conditions along Heydenreich Rd.

14-year-old Victoria Cartwright of Macomb Township was en route to Dakota High School when she was hit crossing Heydenreich Rd. at 7 a.m. on Nov. 4. The driver involved in the crash, a 16-year-old girl, was also en route to the school. This is the second time a teen has been struck and killed while walking to the school in just a few years. 18-year-old Neeosha Nelson was jaywalking across 21 Mile to get to Dakota High School in March 2011 when she was fatally hit by a driver who had just dropped her son off at the school.

Both tragic pedestrian-car crashes have prompted cries to lower the speed limit in the area. During school hours, the speed limit is 35 mph. Outside of those hours, it jumps to 50 mph.

Robert Hoepfner is the director of the Macomb County Department of Roads and arrranged the traffic study. He told Macomb Daily the study will examine factors like speed as well as pedestrian and vehicle traffic, "The major part of the study is a radar survey at the time of day that traffic is moving freely and unimpeded. We’ll check the pedestrian traffic and see how many vehicles enter."

So what happens after the study? If the data supports a case that dropping the speed limit will improve safety, then the next step is presenting the findings to the Michigan State Police, who determine speed limits.

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