35 Hampden County traffic deaths honored in World Day of Remembrance

This article first appeared on Masslive.com on November 16th, 2025. WalkBike Springfield is a community organization that advocates for policy change and infrastructure investment to make every Springfield street and intersection safer for bicyclists, walkers, and motorists. The International Day of Remembrance is an annual event, held on the steps of the Springfield Public Library, to honor those lives in Hampden County lost due to accidents in a roadway over the past year.

SPRINGFIELD — The deaths started on Nov. 22 when a motorcycle driver was killed in a crash in West Springfield. One day later, a pedestrian was struck on Granby Road in Chicopee and died.

They continued throughout the year: Khloe Rosario Quinones was just 6 when she was hit and killed by a car on May 12 while playing in front of her Newland Street home in Springfield. Three construction workers, aged 57, 48 and 26, were killed by a speeding driver while they were fixing an Interstate 91 guard rail off Exit 10A in West Springfield. The last fatality this year was a 73-year-old pedestrian hit while crossing Suffield Street in Agawam.

WalkBike Springfield gathered for the 30th World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, recognizing each of the 35 deaths in Hampden County with a pair of yellow shoes placed on the Central Library stairs. The organization calculates the fatalities from November 2024 through November 2025.

This year’s theme is “safe speeds save lives.” Since the state has allowed communities to drop the speed limit to 25 mph on neighborhood streets, Hampden County has seen benefits, said Betsy Johnson, president of WalkMassachusetts and a founding member of WalkBike Springfield.

“It makes a difference,” she said. “Crashes still happen, but you are more likely to call a tow truck rather than an ambulance.”

Juan Latorre III, vice chairman of the 16 Acres Neighborhood Council and a member of WalkBike Springfield, said the likelihood of survival in a crash increases by 3% for every mile an hour slower a driver is traveling. He said he believes most people want to be good drivers but need to be reminded to pay attention and mind speed limits.

“I keep thinking those shoes should be filled,” he said.

Hampden County has made some progress this year, dropping from 47 deaths last year to 35 this year, but there is still far more work to be done, Johnson said.

“It is difficult to think progress when we see 35 shoes today,” said George Miller. “It is a painful day. It is a difficult day. It is an essential and vital day.”

For at least four years, the event has been held at Central Library on State Street, where Miller’s wife, Librarian Gayle Ball, was killed while crossing the street in 2021; Michael Cooley, 68, was killed in 2023; and 7-year-old Destiny Gonzalez was killed in 2014. Their deaths sparked a yearslong fight that last year resulted in a safer crossing.

Miller said he and Ball were planning to renew their vows and celebrate their marriage that took place during the COVID shutdowns. She was killed three days before the event was scheduled.

He said he hopes to see a day soon when there are no shoes on the steps.

The drop in the number of deaths is encouraging, but state Rep. Jake Oliveira said he is reminded each sneaker, loafer and high heel represents a person whose life was cut short and a family in mourning.

“There is work that needs to be done in this commonwealth, this county, this city,” he said.

About three weeks ago, the Senate passed a bill that adds utility workers to the list of people drivers must give at least 4 feet of space to when passing. The change in the Move Over law, which already applies to public safety officers, tow truck drivers and pedestrians, is now being debated in the House, he said.

While making roadway improvements, the state must take into account ways to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, he said.

Springfield City Councilor Jose Delgado said the city has added beacon lights to busy crosswalks on places, such as Bernie Avenue and State Street near American International College, but agreed there is more to be done.

“I will push leaders at the state and federal level to get money for these,” he said.

Delgado also talked about an initiative he started pushing this year to add cameras on school buses to catch the many people who drive around them when children are getting on or off.

Springfield isn’t the only place where improvements have been made. Kristen Sykes, a member of the Holyoke Biking and Pedestrian Committee, said her city has launched a campaign to crack down on distracted driving using signs and even murals to remind drivers.

The city has been able to add flashing crossing beacons on some known cut-through spots, including one near a popular park on Franklin Street, she said.

Holyoke also has secured $250,000 in state and federal money to pay for a citywide speed management plan, she said.