Fate can often be ironic in a brutal way, but the way one Colorado man met his tragic end was almost “like science fiction,” as his family member put it. 82-year-old Gerry Goldberg was driving out to his cousin’s place for lunch when he suffered fatal injuries in a two-vehicle collision at an intersection. The sad yet ironic bit here is that it’s the same intersection where his wife was killed two years prior.
After her death, he put out a petition, fighting for the city to have a traffic light placed at the intersection so others wouldn’t suffer the same fate. “It would give me a great deal of resolve for closure in the loss of my wife,” Goldberg remarked. “That she didn’t die for no reason, that something good has come out of this.” Unfortunately, he ended up being the next victim of an accident at that very intersection.
Heartbroken and shocked, Gerry Goldberg’s cousin Gloria told 9NEWS in an interview, “I don’t know what to tell you about that, whether it’s a spiritual thing or exactly just what happened because to have it happen in exactly the same place to me it’s just – it’s almost like science fiction.” It’s hard to say whether a traffic light at the intersection would have prevented either Gerry Goldberg’s or his wife’s death. Reportedly, neighbors disagreed because a light there would increase the number of cars passing through the neighborhood.
Regardless, Goldberg’s death is both very tragic and bizarre, and while plenty online share their sympathies for the couple, they also believe the city is at fault. “Nothing is usually done until a tragedy 😪 now it’s two! Do something! 😢” exclaims a commenter. “Maddening! How many lives must be lost before something is done?” questions another. “If that doesn’t get it done then I’m out of ideas,” adds a Redditor.
Many others chime in, saying how usually improvements to infrastructure are overlooked until tragedy hits, often involving the death of an innocent victim. “[It’s a] Crumbling society,” someone says. “It is so sad to see the things that are prioritized,” commented a second. Truly, we live in a day and age where preserving or making money is more important than people’s safety, well-being, and, in Goldberg’s case, lives.
