Southern State Parkway 2.24.2007

View west from Grand Ave

Again, a car traveling eastbound in the left lane in the early morning hit the center support of the Grand Avenue overpass near Exit 20 and the driver was killed in a flaming wreck. It was Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, 5:15 a.m. See news article here. A similar accident (with the loss of three lives) happened Feb. 3.

—

On March 2, 2007, this item appeared in Newsday:

Following a recent rash of fatal accidents on the Southern State Parkway, including two last month that claimed four lives after cars struck the same bridge overpass in Baldwin, State Police have announced a “safety initiative” that would crack down on speeders and aggressive and drunken drivers on the parkway.

“The purpose … is to save lives and to raise public awareness of the dangers of speeding, aggressive driving and driving while intoxicated,” said Maj. Walter Heesch, commander of the State Police Troop L barracks. Link: here.

North Broadway & Thorman Ave., Hicksville

Late on Thursday, February 22, 2007, a woman drove west, exiting Thorman Avenue, Hicksville, making a left turn onto North Broadway. She was killed by a driver heading north on North Broadway. Link here.

Southern State Parkway 2.22.2007

Before 6 a.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2007, a woman was struck and killed on the westbound Southern State Parkway. The news reports say that she was a pedestrian, but give little else by explanation. As Newsday.com has reposted the same item four times on its website, each time various comments have been erased, including one that gave the time as twenty minutes earlier than posted (about 5:30 a.m. instead of 5:52 ) and said that the body was in a travel lane near the Eagle Avenue bridge. The print edition of 2.23.07 Newsday carried the same story as posted.

Main Street, South Farmingdale

On 2.19.2007, about 2:17 p.m., a southbound motorist on Main Street, Farmingdale, veered left, crossing the Main Street near Pleasant Drive, and hit a fence. A steel post went through his windshield and hit him in the head. Cause of sad, sudden death unknown at this time. See newsday.com here.

Again Grand Avenue, Baldwin

About 9:08 p.m. February 16, 2007, a woman crossed Grand Avenue north of East Carl Avenue and was killed by a northbound car. Link to Newsday.com here. To emphasize that this list of fatal accidents in Nassau County treats of tearful events with real people, I must point to Alicia’s photo, vivacious and spirited, in Newsday’s print edition, Sunday, February 18, 2006. She is the second pedestrian fatally struck on Grand Avenue within eight days. The other loss occurred a mile south. See post below.

Sunrise Hwy & Central Ave, Baldwin

On Sunrise Highway, Baldwin, Feb. 14, 2007, about 7 p.m., the driver of a westbound car attempted a left turn onto Central Avenue, an intersection that has a left turn lane and a ordinary traffic signal that lacks a left-turn arrow. The passenger in that Malibu was killed when an eastbound SUV hit it. Link to Newsday article here.

Clinton Road, Garden City 2.9.2007

Headline in Newsday:

“South Hempstead Man Charged after Crash Kills Friend.” Published in Newsday 2.11.07 here.

Driver and friend were 17. Friend was in the back seat. At 11:15 p.m., the driver hit a tree on Clinton Road, Garden City.

Southern State Parkway 2.3.2007

Three men were killed about 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning, February 3, 2007, eastbound on the Southern State Parkway, at exit 20, Grand Avenue. Their car hit the median, somehow went airborne, and crashed against the bridge. All three passengers were killed. See newsday.com

Grand Ave, Baldwin 2.8.2007

A female pedestrian was killed by a hit-and-run driver about 1 p.m. February 8, 2007, when she was crossing Grand Avenue east to west near Sunrise Highway. See newsday.com

An explanation

For some reason or other, individual traffic accidents in Nassau County, New York, are reported in the press, but the same press ignores cumulative information. Is the Southern State Parkway as deadly as it seems? To what degree do pedestrians risk their lives? It is sad and wrong that so many people are killed on the roads of Nassau County. This list may help understand where and when they happen. The “why” is left to others.