Two weeks after she was hit while walking in a marked crosswalk in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood, 47-year-old Barbara Ann Mork has died, leaving friends, family, and neighbors grieving a loss they say never should have happened.
Mork was struck on June 8 at the intersection of Hamline Avenue and Midway Parkway. She was taken to the hospital and remained there until her death on Wednesday, according to loved ones who had set up a fundraiser while she was being treated. Neighbors say her death has sharpened long-standing calls for safer crossings in the area.
In a statement to the Pioneer Press, St. Paul police spokeswoman Alyssa Arcand said officers responded at about 6:15 p.m. the night of the crash and that "the driver was cooperative and showed no signs of impairment." Police said Mork was walking in a marked crosswalk when the vehicle struck her.
A GoFundMe created to help cover Mork’s medical care described her as "a loving mother and grandmother" and identified her as a St. Paul resident, according to the Pioneer Press. Messages on the fundraiser page from neighbors and friends remember her as a devoted presence in her family’s life.
Where the crash happened and city work
The collision occurred at Hamline Avenue and Midway Parkway, a busy junction along a north-south corridor that sees steady vehicle traffic alongside people walking to homes, parks, businesses, and transit stops. According to City of Saint Paul capital improvement materials, safety and crossing upgrades along Hamline Avenue have been included in recent project lists as part of broader efforts to cut down on crashes and improve pedestrian access.
Neighbors push for safer streets
Residents and neighborhood groups have for years pressed the city to slow traffic and upgrade crossings along Hamline, pointing to nearby transit stops, schools and local businesses that draw steady foot traffic. The Hamline Midway Coalition and other community organizations continue outreach and planning work, and neighbors say Mork’s death has given those conversations a painful new urgency.
St. Paul police are still investigating the collision and are asking anyone with information to contact the department. The family’s fundraiser, along with the remembrances from neighbors, highlights the deep impact the loss has had on the Hamline-Midway community.
