A San Mateo father, Ramon Sandoval, is still in intensive care after a pickup truck hit him and two of his children while they were using a marked crosswalk near San Mateo High School over the weekend. Relatives say the 8- and 16-year-old siblings have already been treated and released, but Sandoval remains hospitalized.
The collision happened around 7:30 PM last Saturday at North Delaware and State streets. Police say the driver stayed at the scene, and family members say a GoFundMe has been launched to help cover medical bills. Sandoval’s sister, Ashley Madrigal, told reporters the family "needs to make changes" after years of near-misses at the same intersection. Community members and safety advocates now plan to press the City Council for immediate fixes, according to ABC7.
Corridor Already Flagged For Fixes
A 2022 school-safety assessment from the San Mateo County Office of Education found that crossings along North Delaware are tough for people on foot and recommended rectangular rapid-flashing beacons at nearby intersections. The City of San Mateo has already listed Peninsula Avenue and Delaware Street as a Tier 1 safety project and is planning intersection work that could include curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks and signal upgrades, with construction anticipated to start in summer 2026. Advocates say those plans show officials know there is a problem, and they want the timeline moved up so residents are not waiting years for basic protections.
Neighbors Demand Faster Action
Local safety advocates say a series of recent crashes proves that engineering drawings and long-range plans alone will not prevent more people from getting hurt. Mike Swire, an ambassador with Families for Safe Streets who also sits on local transportation advisory panels, has repeatedly pushed for stronger traffic-calming measures and enforcement, according to KTVU. Neighbors also point to a 2024 pedestrian fatality at Peninsula and Delaware as evidence that the corridor remains dangerous, as reported by the San Mateo Daily Journal.
What To Watch
Sandoval’s family and traffic-safety advocates are expected to ask the council to speed up installations of flashing beacons, corner tightening and speed humps instead of waiting for multi-year capital projects to unfold. City Council meetings are typically held on the first and third Monday at 7 PM at City Hall, and agendas are posted the Thursday before each meeting, according to the City of San Mateo, so anyone planning to speak can watch for public-comment items there. City staff say design work is already underway on parts of the Delaware corridor, but neighbors argue the recent crashes show that more urgent action is needed.
