On the night of October 1 at around 9:30 p.m., 67-year-old James Leroy Jones was struck and killed by a motor vehicle while he was crossing Emmet Street North near Holliday Drive.
On October 3, the Charlottesville Police Department filed charges against 20-year-old Eleanor Cribbs for reckless driving and for driving with a handheld device.
Deputy City Manager James Freas took the opportunity at the October 6 meeting to give updates on efforts to improve conditions for pedestrians.
“Improving pedestrian safety has been a long term goal of the city and in particular last year we have really done a focused effort on investing in rapid deployment of quick-build materials and methods to try to improve pedestrian safety across the entire city,” Freas said.
Last fall, a woman named Mamawa Samai was killed crossing Elliott Avenue on the evening of October 3. Her death prompted much discussion and led to the creation of the quickbuild programs. Freas said a similar assessment will take place for the U.S. 29 area to see if there are any quick improvements that might be made.
“We’re going to be looking to turn around some recommendations as quickly as possible,” Freas said.
A pedestrian bridge across U.S. 29 further to the north is expected to be completed at the end of the month.
Before you go: The time to write and conduct research for this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the October 7, 2025 edition of the program. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.
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