Trenton, NJ : Police ID man killed in crash at Hamilton’s ‘worst intersection’ Monday, August 22, 2016
As the Hamilton Police Division continues investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash that killed a 50-year-old Jackson man last week at a “dangerous” intersection, a review of state data shows more than 100 drivers, passengers or pedestrians have been killed in motor vehicle accidents in Hamilton Township since 1999.
Thomas A. Swanic was the 107th person killed in a Hamilton Township car accident since Jan. 1, 1999. Hamilton Police Lt. Richard Mastropolo on Wednesday said the police division is still investigating the deadly crash.
Swanic was driving a 2012 Kia Optima southbound on Hempstead Road when he collided with a 2014 Ford F-150 pickup truck that was traveling westbound on Arena Drive.
Swanic had to be extricated from his vehicle by firefighters from the Whitehorse and Rusling Hose fire companies. He was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton by ambulance, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The driver of the pickup truck, identified as 31-year-old Hamilton resident Brett E. Marini, was not injured in the 3:45 p.m. Aug. 22 collision, according to Mastropolo.
Neighborhood residents described the intersection of Arena Drive and Hempstead Road as “dangerous,” “very scary,” and “bad,” with one woman calling it “the worst intersection in Hamilton.”
With the intersection featuring no traffic lights and no pedestrian-crossing island refuge, the residents demanded the installation of traffic-calming devices to minimize the risk of car accidents occurring at that location.
“When destinations are across from each other or when block lengths are long, mid-block crossings may be required,” says a 2011 Hamilton Township traffic study. “Since mid-block crossings may be counter to driver expectance, simply marking a crosswalk at a mid-block location without supplementary signs or signals is not sufficient. Advance warning, overhead pedestrian crossing signs, and traffic signals are some of the devices that can enhance safety at a mid-block crossing.”
Local residents said car accidents often occur near the corner of Arena Drive and Hempstead Road, but a review of New Jersey State Police fatal accident statistics shows that intersection is nowhere near being Hamilton’s most deadly roadway.
The Trentonian has reviewed all of the 98 fatal motor vehicle-related traffic accidents that have occurred in Hamilton Township over the 17-year span from Jan. 1, 1999, to Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, and found only two other fatalities that occurred on Arena Drive:
• At 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, a pedestrian was struck and killed at the intersection of Arena Drive and Gropp Avenue. At the time, Hamilton police said 27-year-old Ian Allen of Hamilton was crossing Arena Drive near the intersection of Gropp Avenue when he was hit by a 2001 Ford Focus driven by then-22-year-old Laura Fulton of Hamilton. Allen was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, where he was pronounced dead.
• At 12:39 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003, a passenger died in a motor vehicle accident at the beginning of County Road 620, which is another name for Arena Drive in Hamilton Township.
In May 2011, then-Mayor John Bencivengo’s administration conducted a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian circulation study that had identified intersections and corridors throughout the 40-square-mile township that were objectively deemed crash hotspots for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists/pedacyclists.
In that study, the township reviewed crash records from 2007 through 2009, which revealed 168 crashes involving pedestrians or pedacycles. Of those 168 crashes, 95 involved pedestrians, and 73 involved pedacycles. Three of those crashes resulted in fatalities.
The three intersections the township selected for analysis were Sloan Avenue/Flock Road at Quakerbridge Road; Whitehorse-Mercerville Road at Route 33; and Hamilton Avenue at South Olden Avenue.
“The conditions of the intersection of Sloan Avenue and Flock Road with Quakerbridge Road were examined due to several crashes in the vicinity within the last three years, including both pedestrian and pedacycle crashes,” the 2011 study states.
The report also found that several pedestrian and pedacycle crashes occurred in the vicinity of the Whitehorse-Mercerville Road and Route 33 intersection and the intersection of Hamilton Avenue with South Olden Avenue from 2007 through 2009.
Furthermore, the 2011 study reviewed six corridor points identified as motor vehicle crash hotspots, including portions of Nottingham Way, Greenwood Avenue, Hamilton Avenue and South Broad Street.
The report explored the feasibility of making primary and secondary roads bicycle compatible, saying, “A bicycle compatible roadway is intended to reduce conflicts and provide a safer environment for all roadway users.”
“Many primary streets are compatible, but are very wide and lack appropriate lane and shoulder striping. Significant portions of many regional roadways are not compatible such as Quaker Bridge Road, Klockner Road, Arena Drive, South Broad Street, and Mercerville-White Horse Road,” the report states. “Nearly all secondary streets are compatible, but many are very wide … and lack appropriate lane and shoulder striping.”
Arena Drive is largely a bicycle-incompatible primary road maintained by Mercer County, and Hempstead Road/Avenue is a primary road maintained by Hamilton Township. The 2011 report had many short-term and long-term recommendations for improving traffic safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists on Hamilton’s primary and secondary roads identified as crash hotspots.
The Bencivengo administration’s 2011 traffic study reinforces the findings of The Trentonian’s analysis of Hamilton Township’s most deadly roadways.
Source :
Police ID man killed in crash at Hamilton’s ‘worst intersection’