Year After Deadly Collision In Worcester, Stafford Street May Change

Editor's note: Plans for Stafford Street were set to be on the April 25 city council agenda, but the item was withheld due to plans for associated roadway improvements that were not finalized.

WORCESTER, MA — Tuesday marks one year since an SUV driver hit 5-year-old Candice Asare-Yeboah and her mother along Stafford Street in Worcester, and it appears changes are coming to a wide roadway that many pedestrians feel is unsafe.

Asare-Yeboah and her mother, Asha Nyarki Asare, were in a crosswalk after a shopping trip at Queen Beauty Supply on April 18, 2022, when driver Christopher Remillard hit them. Asare-Yeboah died due to her injuries about a month after the collision, and Nyarki Asare suffered long-term injuries.

According to a city spokesman, Worcester's new Transportation and Mobility Department will submit plans to the city council this week detailing several transportation projects, including Stafford Street. Those plans will likely be up for discussion at the April 25 meeting.

During a community audit of Stafford Street last summer, local elected officials, residents and business owners identified multiple problems with Stafford Street — including that the crosswalk that Candice and her mother were using is often blocked by parked drivers, and is a bus layover spot on one side. On top of that, Stafford Street features single wide lanes in either direction, likely encouraging drivers to exceed the speed limit.

On a separate track, Worcester is working on a plan to make streets safe for non-drivers citywide. The U.S. Department of Transportation in February awarded Worcester a $200,000 grant to develop a safety action plan under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. The plan will lay out how Worcester can reduce roadway injuries by changing behavior and infrastructure with a "vision zero" goal of ending them completely.

In 2022 alone, seven pedestrians died along roads in Worcester, according to MassDOT data — although Candice Asare-Yeboah's death is not counted toward that total because she died weeks after her collision. Last year was the deadliest for pedestrians in Worcester dating back to 2015, which is when MassDOT began publishing fatal crash data.

Remillard, a Leicester resident, was charged last year with vehicular homicide, speeding, failing to yield in a crosswalk, negligent operation and marked lane violations. Remillard's case is still open and he's due in court May 12 for a hearing, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.