Family mourns death of Edward Manning, hit by car in Desert Hot Springs

Teresita Ramirez said she’s heartbroken her brother, 44-year-old Edward Manning, was hit by a car Friday night in Desert Hot Springs. Police said Manning later died at Desert Regional Medical Center.

“I wish he was here, but I know he’s in a better place,” said Ramirez.

It happened around 8:15 p.m. on Hacienda Drive and Tamar Drive, where Corrina Manning said her father would walk every day to and from home.

“My dad was just a block away from home, across the street. I don’t know if the driver couldn’t see him,” said Manning.

The driver of the car who hit Manning stopped and remained on scene. Manning is survived by his four children. Hi family said the area where he was hit is a danger zone for pedestrians.

“When I went to the scene. It was so dark. I had to leave my lights on to see where I was going,” said Manning.

Another issue is driver’s speeding. The speed limit is 40 miles per hour on Hacienda, but we spotted drivers racing past us going a lot faster.

“The cars go too fast there. They need to put some speed bumps there to slow these cars down. It’s really bad,” said Ramirez.

The Manning’s are asking the city to make changes like add more lighting or a crosswalk. We called the city to see what can be done to help.

City councilman Russell Betts said it’s a problem throughout the Coachella Valley and the city’s doing what it can within it’s means to address it. It’s currently looking at solutions for Palm Drive. Hacienda Drive isn’t on the agenda yet.

For now he said drivers need to slow down and pedestrians be aware.

“I just don’t want this to happen any other families. I don’t want them to feel the pain I felt. I want people to be able to feel safe walking outside,” said Manning.

Manning’s family created a “Go Fund Me” account to help pay for funeral costs. If you’d like to help, go to gofundme.com