Woman Urges City Officials to Lower Speed Limit on Taft After Crash That Killed Boy, 6

A Wheaton woman is hoping to encourage city officials to consider changing the speed limit on Taft Avenue from 30 to 20 mph in light of a crash that killed a 6-year-old boy last month. 

John RuatPuia, a kindergarten student at Lincoln Elementary School, was walking home from school with his mother and two siblings on May 4 when he was struck by a vehicle, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the RuatPuia family. Police said the boy ran out in front of a car in the 1200 block of Taft Avenue, according to the Daily Herald. RuatPuia died a week later from injuries sustained during the crash. 

>>> More on Patch: Wheaton Kindergarten Student Dies After Being Hit by Car

Kara Kortum of Wheaton has started an online petition on change.org and so far, has collected 230 signatures. Kortum, who said she was the first person to respond to the crash on May 4, wants Mayor Michael J. Gresk and the Wheaton City Council to consider lowering the speed limit along Taft Avenue from 30 to 20 mph.

“We have at least 100 kids in our area that go to the same school John RuatPuia went to who could be hit next,” Kara Kortum of Wheaton wrote in the change.org petition. “I do not want another Wheaton family torn apart by another accident that can easily be prevented by lowering the speed limit on streets full of small kids who can easily slip out in front of a car going 30 mph.”

More information can be found on the change.org online petition

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