GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WKBW) — Grand Island is asking the DOT for help making the South Pkwy/Broadway intersection safer. Since September 11, three people have been hospitalized and a 13-year-old girl was killed on that very road.
It’s been just under three weeks since 8th grader Leah Mayer was struck and killed by an SUV at this intersection.
The Superintendent of the Grand Island School District told 7 News that students processed their grief by decorating Leah's locker and writing her and her family letters. You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
Sunday, a car and a motorcycle collided just a few feet from Leah’s memorial. The car was carrying two children, both were taken to the hospital, along with the person on the motorcycle. The motorcyclist was cited for speeding.
“Different circumstances but same place,” Grand Island supervisor Pete Marston said. “I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a traffic engineer, but the laws of average say we should have a really good look at it.”
Before that second accident happened, Marston and the town penned a letter to the State Department of Transportation, asking for “a more intense study of vehicle and pedestrian traffic in this area” in order to “reinvestigate and look for potential improvements.”
Now, after yet another serious accident, the man behind another one of those signatures, Grand Island highway superintendent Dick Crawford, told me that request is even more important now.
“We took notice on the first accident, and now we’re taking an even more serious note because there were two within two weeks, that’s two too many," said Crawford.
Just three weeks ago, neighbors listed several ways they wanted to see the intersection changed and started an online petition to add a full stoplight to this intersection.
Both Marston and Crawford are open to any safety suggestions from a DOT study.
I asked a DOT spokesperson when this safety improvement study may happen but have not yet heard back.
The sheriff's office said the investigation into both of these recent crashes are ongoing.
