Atlanta

Councilman working to restore lights along roadway where woman was hit, killed

By Alyssa Hyman

Marcella Bellamy, 70, was killed while walking in that area after she was hit by two cars. The first car never stopped. 

By Alyssa Hyman

ATLANTA — A local city councilman is taking action in hopes of increasing visibility along a major state highway in northwest Atlanta where a local grandmother was hit and killed while walking at night.

Channel 2's Alyssa Hyman was with Atlanta City Councilman Dustin Hillis as he flagged more than a dozen streetlights that were not working along James Jackson Parkway near Proctor Drive.

Marcella Bellamy, 70, was killed while walking in that area after she was hit by two cars last Friday night. The first car, a dark SUV, never stopped.

Hillis now hopes better lighting along the road will make it safer for pedestrians.

“I came out to look at the streetlight outage, and in that process, I discovered not only one streetlight was out, but we had, unfortunately, 10-15 streetlights out,” Hillis said. "We already have lights. They're just out. They need to be repaired."

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After personally marking the outages, Hillis said he's going to report it to Georgia Power, hoping to get the lights back on and the streets safer for pedestrians -- bringing a small sense of comfort to the family facing the tragedy.

"It's been really difficult to deal with, but I take some type of comfort in knowing that maybe we can prevent this from happening again," Bellamy's niece, Tabitha Boyce, said.

Hyman contacted Georgia Power about who's ultimately responsible for maintaining the lights if they go out. A spokesperson sent the following statement.

“We are aware of the situation involving the street lights on James Jackson Parkway in Atlanta, and are actively looking into it.”

Hillis said he would also like to see more sidewalks and crosswalks in the area but said that could take a little more time.

Cox Media Group

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