HARRISBURG — Some drivers waved. Some honked. A few pulled over to offer donations.

But many showed no inclination toward what the people on the sidewalk amid candles and balloons wanted most from them: to slow down.

Instead, they barreled up and down the city thoroughfare, seemingly oblivious to the speed limit, and to the remnant of yellow tape dangling from a utility pole, leftover from the pedestrian crash that killed Phyllice Taylor.

The people lining the street in the chilly, fading light on Saturday were loved ones of Taylor, 65, who died a month ago while crossing Seventh Street between Dauphin and Muench streets.

They held a vigil near where she died, for the purpose of remembering Taylor, who was known for volunteer work, and to urge people to drive, as one put it, “like your kids live here.”

“We’re kind of sending two messages,” said Taylor’s sister, Karen Tomlinson.

On March 9, 2019, loved ones of Phyllice Taylor held a vigil near the location where she was struck by a car and killed in February in Harrisburg, Pa.

The messages were conveyed by poster boards held up to passing motorists, including one which read “Heaven gained another angel,” and one which read “Slow down.”

The need for the second one seemed obvious as traffic whooshed past. Contemplating the stretch of road that took Taylor’s life, the people who cared most for her had many observations about why it’s unnecessarily deadly: The long, straight stretch of road, four lanes across, has the feel of a highway rather than one bisected by residential blocks. While the speed limit is 25 mph, there were no speed limit signs in sight. At one point, a group of people riding off-road dirt bike motorcycles and ATVs tore past, with the motorcyclists riding wheelies.

“I think if they were going 25, she would still be with us,” said Rebecca Green, referring to the driver of the car that struck Taylor.

Green, who lives on Franklin County, said she became close friends with Taylor and Tomlinson as the result of the three of them working at federal defense jobs in Cumberland County.

Taylor, a graduate of William Penn High School in Harrisburg, was retired from a 37-year career at the Navy supply depot near Mechancsburg. She was known for volunteer work with organizations including Meals on Wheels and prolific donations to Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank, where her family said she donated a total of 14 gallons and was a “VIP member.”

She was struck at 7:13 p.m. on Feb. 8. A Harrisburg man, Samuel White, 71, is charged with homicide by vehicle and offenses including careless driving and driving without a license.

On March 9, 2019, loved ones of Phyllice Taylor held a vigil near the location where she was struck by a car and killed in February in Harrisburg, Pa.

Taylor was the second pedestrian within a week struck and killed in the immediate Harrisburg area. On Feb. 5, Elaine Pendelton, 63, died after being hit while crossing Union Deposit Road in Lower Paxton Township. She was hit while crossing the road with a grandchild just after sunset.

The deaths came as both the Harrisburg region and the United States are logging the highest numbers of pedestrian deaths in about 30 years. In the Harrisburg region, 23 pedestrians were killed in 2018 in Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry and York counties, according to an analysis by PennLive. Nationally, a report from the Governors Highway Safety Association said 6,227 pedestrians were killed by vehicles in 2018.

The increases are blamed on assorted factors, including more people walking, a shift toward light trucks which are more likely to kill a pedestrian, and a possible increase in distraction caused by smart phones.

Standing near where her sister died, Tomlinson said the group hopes that some of the people driving past will stop to consider how easily speeding or careless driving can take a life, and that city officials will take note and consider controls or enforcements that can make the road safer for pedestrians.

“We need to make this safer. It’s a busy street,” she said.