A traffic light is currently being installed at the intersection of 51st Street and Troost Avenue where UMKC student Yuxi Wu was killed crossing the street six months ago.
Chancellor Mauli Agrawal met with the president of Rockhurst University, which sits on the other side of the intersection, immediately after the fatal accident.
The chancellor and Rockhurst’s Dr. Sandra Cassidy asked elected officials and city council members to meet them on site so that they could physically stand at the intersection and see what was needed to prevent an accident like that from happening again.
“If you stand there, and some of you may live around there, it’s actually scary,” said Agrawal. “Cars are going by at 45 to 50 miles an hour. They’re not supposed to be, but they are.”
The chancellor says after meeting on site and surveying the intersection, there was no doubt among the city officials that something had to change.
They considered possible solutions like lane changes, but Chancellor Agrawal and Dr. Cassidy insisted that the change needed to be new lights.
Chancellor Agrawal appreciates how quickly the city cooperated with UMKC, stating that they moved the project up towards the top of their priorities.
Progress on the project stalled during the winter but picked up recently with possible plans to continue improving traffic safety in the area following speed concerns.
“I cannot promise you anything, because personnel are changing at City Hall,” said Chancellor Agrawal, “but they were going to do a traffic study at all intersections down Troost to see what other things could be done to mitigate speed.”
Junior business major Alannah Zuber’s roommate Hope Drake was right behind Yuxi Wu at the intersection and called 911 following the accident.
Less than 24 hours later, the two started up a petition urging the city to install a stoplight at the intersection which garnered over 600 signatures since.
“I was told there was nothing UMKC could do and that it was a city issue so that’s why I created the petition,” said Zuber. “I live right next to the light and seeing it being built makes me so happy, and I’m sure others feel the same.”
Zuber talked to a police officer that arrived on the scene of the accident who told her that many other people were hit or injured on that crosswalk before.
“Hope was 5 feet behind the student who got hit,” said Zuber. “She and others I know cross that intersection daily. Drivers have to be more aware of people even when those traffic lights are put up.”
Construction on the traffic light is expected to wrap up by the end of May.
![Alex Unseth [left] and Yasmen Hassen [right] speaking at the dinner.](https://kcroonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SGA-1-1200x800.jpg)
