Troubling trend of car crashes continues to plague Long Island roads
AMITYVILLE, N.Y. -- It has been a deadly summer on Long Island roadways, especially in August, when more than 30 fatalities were recorded.
Regrettably, September is starting out the same way.
The Aguirre family was unable to comprehend how their patriarch was just killed when two hit-and-run drivers ran over him. It was one of two pedestrian deaths over the weekend.
"It's kind of like a silent epidemic because it happens so often," said Janine Logan of the group Walk Safe Long Island.
Walk Safe Long Island says over the past three years in Nassau and Suffolk counties, 515 people have been hit and injured while walking or biking.
"Lots of times, it's the elderly who are crossing the road, cars making a left-hand turn," Logan said.
Or joggers when there is no sidewalk. Ilyona Kaydanov, 22, was hit and killed last week. She was a ballroom dancer from Commack. Her family was unable to endure the heartbreak. The driver wasn't charged.
Although Long Island roads are among the deadliest, few drivers involved in crashes that kill pedestrians or cyclists face criminal charges. That is, unless they are caught after fleeing the scene, or it can be proven they were drunk, under the influence of drugs, or speeding.
"When things happen at higher speeds, they are more deadly," said Elissa Kyler of Vision Long Island, which added our roads were built not for safety, but to move cars through quickly.
According to the Institute for Traffic Safety and Management, Long Island averages 18.2 roadway deaths per month. However, in August it soared to 31.
The Singh family of Huntington is lobbying for stiffer penalties, saying the drunk driving cases are on the rise, especially on weekends.
"The drunken driving cases are on the rise, especially on the weekends," a family member said.
Among mandatory rules of the road, cyclists and joggers are supposed to be given a 3-foot buffer.
"If a person is in a crosswalk, you have to stop," Logan said.
The Ricondos of Huntington said little children are at risk.
"They are in the crosswalk, but then there can be a driver that is speeding or not paying attention," Luciano Ricondo said.
Experts point to European nations, where calming traffic is already a success.
"There is a record amount of funding available to make safety improvements (from federal government and state)," Kyle said.
Funding can be used to narrow lanes and shorten crosswalks. It's harrowing to walk through six lanes of traffic.