Brandi, It's 21 traffic fatalities in the City of Mesa - not all at that particular intersection.

The following is from a February 2007 East Valley Tribune Article:

"Each day, traffic is thick with motorists speeding along the asphalt in Mesa. Some drivers are encapsulated in their vehicles, other people are more vulnerable riding motorcycles and bicycles or walking across the street.

Mesa’s death toll barely broke 30 in past years, but in 2005 the number spiked to 67 traffic fatalities. The number remained high in 2006, when 49 people were killed on the city’s 1,243 miles of roadway. On Thursday, Mesa saw this year’s fourth traffic fatality when a 21-year-old woman died.

THE SPIKE
Officials have spent hours studying the fatal collisions as well as dangerous streets but can’t pinpoint a sole reason for the recent spike. The city is spending millions of dollars to improve everything from intersections to the lettering on street signs in the name of public safety.

The factors that lead to fatalities vary from bad driving to speeding, inattentive driving, distracted driving and drunken driving, Mesa police Cmdr. Ron Kirby said.

An analysis of 2006 fatal collision reports obtained by the Tribune reveals several reasons and locations for the deaths. Friday was the most common day when collisions occurred, with a slight majority happening after dark throughout the week and weekend. The tragedies occurred when people walked outside crosswalks, followed motorists too closely or lost control of their vehicles and hit light poles. Crash victims died mostly west of Val Vista Drive.

If there was a common thread in 2006, it would be fatal crashes that were the result of people failing to yield to oncoming motorists. The reports show that 19 of the 46 fatal collisions were because of failure to yield. Richard Retting, senior transportation engineer with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said failing to yield is a nationwide problem. But he said Mesa could suffer from aggressive drivers traveling at high rates of speed."


I developed a very real fear of driving while I lived in Mesa (but, this applied to driving anywhere in the East Valley). I rode my bike one time while living there and that was even scarier!