Deadly Street: West Babylon neighbors ask for fixes at site where 5 people have died since 2023

When Ana Almontes learned of the Sept. 21 crash on Great East Neck Road in West Babylon that killed three people, including local teenagers Riley Gut And Bella Trezzashe was heartbroken for her families, but not surprised by the latest confrontation.

Almontes, 65, lives about a quarter mile south, on the same road known among locals for speeding and accidents. In July, the SUV got out of control and plowed in the living room of her next-door neighbors.

Almontez said she was afraid to fall asleep downstairs for fear the car might crash into the wall.

“It’s very, very dangerous here,” she said in Spanish, adding that at least three cars have crashed into her yard since she moved there in 2001.

Great East Neck Road, a 1.2-mile thoroughfare between Little East Neck Road and Montauk Highway, had 284 crashes between 2019 and 2022, according to the state Department of Transportation, involving intersections and 109 people were injured nearby. The recent crash that killed the teens was the third fatal crash since early 2023 near the road’s intersection with Railroad Avenue.

Experts say it often takes a tragedy to eliminate long-standing road hazards. In recent weeks, a group of West Babylon residents has launched a letter-writing campaign calling on Suffolk County to make physical changes to discourage speeding and improve visibility on the road.

Even before the recent fatal crash, some residents were calling for safety precautions. Babylon City Manager Rich Shaffer sent a letter from a local resident to transportation officials and county legislators calling for changes to Great East Neck Road 47 days before the crash that killed Guth and Trezza, according to city email records.

In the weeks following the accident, the county announced plans to install more signs and signal strips and explore other potential changes. The district said it has also asked Suffolk police to increase enforcement in the area.

But some residents say the county’s efforts are too little, too late.

“They’re just putting a little Band-Aid over a bullet hole,” said Michael Rosenberger, a local parent and leader of the letter-writing effort for the changes – some of which, like rumble strips, have been completed. earlier this month.

Newsday spoke with traffic experts and community members who called speeding a serious problem and said speeding drivers need to be deterred with more physical changes that force them to slow down. They supported a range of additional measures to make the corridor safer – from speed cameras to medians, new signals and crosswalks.

Michael Martino, a Suffolk County spokesman, did not respond to Newsday’s written questions about how he made the decision on the announced changes or whether a new traffic study had been conducted. However, he said in an email that the county will “continue to evaluate” whether additional traffic control devices, traffic lights or other measures are needed.

In a statement, County Executive Ed Romaine said the Suffolk Department of Public Works is “responding as quickly as possible and listening to local elected officials and the community to ensure their concerns are heard, and we are taking action… to address this urgent need.” problems.” public issue.”

Busy road where speeding is common

Great East Neck Road, home to two schools and many homes, is a busy thoroughfare for commuters and truck traffic to and from the county sanitation plant on the South Shore. It has two lanes in each direction, going north and south, as well as a turn lane, which during a reporter’s recent visit, an ATV driver was using to make turns and other tricks in the middle of traffic.

Although the speed limit is 30 mph, the road’s wide lanes and open-road feel allow drivers to comfortably go faster, experts say. In 2019, the latest year for which DOT data is available, 15% of southbound drivers were traveling over 47 mph. (Although the speed limit at the time was 40 mph. The county did not respond to questions about when the speed limit was lowered.) More than 350 red light violations were reported per month in 2021. according to county data from five red light cameras located on Great East Neck Road.

The intersection with Zheleznodorozhny Avenue, one of the most dangerous, is bordered on the north by two elevated railway overpasses, which make it difficult to see traffic lights and the roadway, residents say.

There have been three crashes in the area of ​​the overpasses in the past two years that have killed five people, including a crash in September that killed three people.

Eileen O’Hara, 78, was struck by a northbound vehicle on Jan. 21, 2023, while crossing Great East Neck Road on foot. The school aide and retired grandmother was returning from evening Mass at a nearby church, her son James said. Suffolk police said no arrests have been made in connection with the crash.

On August 5, 63-year-old driver Thomas Parietti was killed when he veered from the northbound lane into the southbound lane and crashed into trees near a railroad overpass. According to his daughter, the cause of the accident was a heart attack.

Then, around 1:06 a.m. Sept. 21, Michael Desmond of Lindenhurst drove a 2017 Kia sedan east on Railroad Avenue through a red light and collided with a 2025 Kia Seltos heading south on Great East Neck Road. . Desmond, 33, and Gut, 18, died on the same night. Trezza, 17, died four days later.

Newsday has filed public records requests for Suffolk Police investigative files related to the fatal crashes.

County received warning before latest fatal crash

After an SUV crashed into a house in July, resident Chris Graham wrote to Shaffer, the town supervisor, calling attention to the speeding problem.

“Please help us not just do a study, but make REAL changes to traffic conditions on Great East Neck Road so we can continue to keep our community safe as traffic increases,” Graham wrote.

On August 5, after another fatal accident but a month and a half before the crash that killed Guth and Trezza, Schaffer forwarded this letter to Charles Bartha, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, and other employees.

Suffolk County shared the proposed changes with Shaffer on Oct. 9. These included new and updated rumble strips, additional 30 mph signs, digital feedback signs, turn arrow signs and a warning sign before the Railroad Avenue intersection.

Schaffer said he thanks the county for its quick response.

But Rosenberger, the attorney, said the county should have acted sooner.

“They could and should have acted. There was an opportunity to prevent this (September) accident,” he said.

Experts and members of the public call for additional measures

Steve Moser, a parent whose children knew some of the teens killed in September, said it appears Suffolk County police have increased patrols since the crash.

“The police presence is a huge help,” he said.

But the county needs to do more, including installing additional signals in front of railroad overpasses to improve visibility on Railroad Avenue, Moser said.

“You can’t see what’s coming or going. You can’t see what cars are coming to the side because the railroad blocks your view,” he said.

Restoring that signal is one option that Martino, the county spokesman, said the county will evaluate.

James O’Hara, whose mother was killed last year, told Newsday he would like to see more crosswalks along the roadway. His mother, who lived nearby and did not use a car, was hit while crossing a section of the road where pedestrian crossings are a quarter of a mile apart.

Elissa Kyle, director of improvements for Vision Long Island in Northport, which advocates for pedestrian streets, said she recommends narrowing lanes to discourage drivers on Railroad Avenue from driving fast, such as by installing a tree-lined median. .

“If the road seems wide open and there are no obstacles, then (drivers) will feel comfortable going faster,” Kyle said.

Carl Berkowitz, an independent traffic engineer from Maurice, said the county’s fire lanes aren’t always effective at reducing speeds.

“What makes it best is the speed cameras,” he said.

There are no speed cameras on Great East Neck Road, which only allowed in designated road work zones in accordance with state law. The county’s traffic light cameras, installed in 2013, do not detect speeding if the driver fails to pass the light.

Suffolk County announced it would end its red light program on Dec. 1 after… State lawmakers did not extend the program. in the last legislative session, and Failure of the Suffolk Legislature deliver a “home rule message” to the state Legislature in support of the extension.

Berkowitz said that while he respects Suffolk’s leadership, the district’s initial decisions do not appear to be based on extensive research.

“Someone needs to do a really intensive study of this area… I don’t think you want to make recommendations without… doing an in-depth traffic study,” he said.

Community Unites

Setha Lowe, who leads the public space research group at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, says grassroots efforts to reshape roads often arise after a tragedy, such as the September crash.

“It’s an issue that gets the public involved in the issue and gets them to speak out about what they think about the public space,” she said.

Rosenberger sees the letter-writing campaign, as well as an effort he is leading to distribute signs urging drivers to slow down, as one of many ways the community is responding to the fatal crash in September. Local businesses and sports leagues also organized fundraisers for the victims’ families.

“The community has really come together over this incident,” he said.

With Ariel Martinez