ROBESONIA, Pa. – Police say 65-year-old Sherry Yoh of North Heidelberg Township was struck and killed Wednesday evening while crossing West Penn Avenue near South Brooke Street in Robesonia.
“I’m still kind of shook that this happened,” said neighbor Michelle Garcia-Diaz.
The Berks County Coroner says Yoh died from blunt force trauma, and her death has been ruled accidental. Police say the driver stopped at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. No charges have been filed at this time.
“If you can see over there, there’s a sign that has things saying that people cross the street,” said Darian, who lives in the area. “But over here, nobody listens to those signs.”
Just steps away from where the crash happened is Lori’s Candy Station.
“I was devastated to hear about that,” said owner Lori Brown.
Brown has owned the candy shop since 1997 and says she’s seen traffic change dramatically over the years.
“I grew up in town here. So I’ve seen the changes over the last 60 years, and traffic is terrible,” she said.
She says people cross West Penn Avenue every day, and even when they do everything right, it can still feel unsafe.
“I always make sure traffic has stopped even though the light’s red, because you can’t assume they’re going to stop. Everybody tries to beat the light,” Brown said.
Now, she hopes this tragedy leads to a larger conversation about safety in the area.
“We have new council members that were just elected, so I’m sure they’ll be looking at this,” Brown said. “I don’t know what the answer is, but I think the conversation needs to happen.”
The crash remains under investigation by the South Heidelberg Township Police Department.