‘No one follows the rules’: Neighbors say 27th and St. Paul intersection has history of reckless driving, crashes

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Last Friday, two Marquette student athletes were hit and killed by another driver on 27th St. and St. Paul Avenue.

Kayla Harvey has been working along 27th St. for five years and says reckless driving is common at the St. Paul intersection, along with the Clybourn intersection.

“It’s very depressing, they’re too young,” Harvey said. “Driving around here is crap, it sucks, no one follows the rules.”

Harvey says this is not the first time there’s been a serious accident in those five years.

“You can literally hear crashes all the time,” Harvey said. “I can’t drive comfortably.”

Kelsey Bertolas grew up on St. Paul Avenue near the 27th St. intersection.

“There are many times throughout my life that I have heard of fatal accidents down there, and it’s just sad that it has to be like that,” Bertolas said.

Bertolas moved away from the area years ago but still drives there every day to pick up her kids from her mom.

When she drives in the area, she says she waits three seconds after a light turns green to go.

“I always hope we make it home,” Bertolas said. “You can try to wait that extra three seconds, you can try to do your due diligence, but there’s always something that might happen that you’re not prepared for, and it’s always just a little nerve-racking.”

Harvey hopes things can change but says police presence in the area is low.

“It’s unfortunately something that doesn’t get a second blink anymore. An accident happens, you go by the next day, that’s just how it is, nothing changes,” Harvey said.

Bertolas says the intersection has always been busy, going back almost 20 years.

“It’s always been a busy intersection, but it just gets busier and busier as time goes on,” Bertolas said. “I just don’t think it is built to handle the traffic flow that is going through there on a daily basis.”