Death a sad wake-up call about corner

On Thursday a fatality occurred at Benton and Northwest Highway, and one of the dearest, kindest people to ever grace this earth was lost to us fortunate enough to know her.  Aida Guss was the epitome of a thoughtful, wonderful person, as anyone who knew her can tell you.

I reside in the Northview neighborhood and walked to and from church countless times with Mrs. Guss.  We and many other residents of our neighborhood commented over and over again that the light on Benton does not allow nearly enough time for a pedestrian to walk across Northwest Highway. We have to literally run across the street to make it before the light changes.

And as a driver, the light is red for far longer than necessary. Some of my neighbors contacted officials to tell them this, but nothing ever was done to correct it. I have seen countless vehicles "run the red light" because they don't want to get caught there and have to wait.  A couple years ago I was crossing at that intersection, going south on Benton. The crossing signal for me to walk turned green, and I stepped off the curb. I suddenly glanced to my left, and there was a car speeding through the intersection, even though he clearly had the red light, not the yellow, and he never stopped.  Had I not turned my head he would have hit me full force.

I do not know what happened that morning that caused this accident. But regardless of who was at fault or how it all happened, the fact remains that this intersection is dangerous. A lot of people walk across at that spot, with St. Theresa church and school and Quest Academy right there.

Many people walk from our neighborhood into town, and that's where they cross the street. It is time for our village council to carefully study the situation and change it before anyone else is injured or killed. I think Mrs. Guss would be pleased that something positive came from what happened to her.

Barbara Kohn

Palatine