Residents in both West Windsor and Plainsboro are calling for the addition of pedestrian safety measures following instances where pedestreans were struck by vehicles.
An accident in Plainsboro on Tuesday, November 21 left a 3-year-old, Andre Pankratov, dead and his nanny, Tatyana Yaroslavskaya, 60, critically injured. The nanny was crossing George Davison Road at Ashford Drive at 5:22 when a car driven by Paul Carola, 39, of Basking Ridge collided with them.
According to Plainsboro Police, He said he didn’t see them in the street in enough time to stop his car. Police said it doesn’t appear that he was speeding or intoxicated.
Alexander Pankratov, the boy’s father, was on his way to his home in the Ashford Development from his IT job in Philadelphia when he learned of the incident. He said he had been diverted around George Davison Road when a call came in from Yaroslavskaya’s cell phone. Plainsboro police were using her phone to deliver the message.
The child and his nanny were airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at New Brunswick, but paramedics said at that point there was little chance of recovery. The boy died late Tuesday night with his father and his mother, Julia Kovalenko, at his side. Yaroslavskaya remained in critical condition.
Police say although the location has no crosswalk, it is a common place for pedestrians to cross, since it is the most direct way to go when walking from the Brittany development to the Ashford development. Yaroslavskaya lives in Brittany.
Police also said they could not recall any previous pedestrian accidents at the site. Residents are now calling for a lower speed limit, crosswalk, and traffic light at the spot. There is a crosswalk and traffic light nearly 40 yards to the north, at the intersection of George Davison and Plainsboro Road.
Patrolman John Bresnan is investigating the incident. Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call Plainsboro police at (609) 799-2333.
Clarksville Road Collision
On Monday, November 13, Ken Carlson, spokesman for the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, argued before the town’s council that lighting and a crosswalk should be added at a nearby crossing of Clarksville road to make it safer for pedestrians to go from the Avalon Watch apartment complex to the Village Square shopping center.
What he didn’t know was that proof of his point had been made two hours earlier, as a car leaving Village Square struck two elderly pedestrians, Junyue Li and Xiuyuan Xiao, taking their 4-year-old granddaughter across the street to Avalon Watch. The child was unharmed.
On Thursday, November 9, the WWBPA organized a walk to raise awareness of the dangers at the location. Several West Windsor Council members attended the walk, and discussed the need for safety improvements on the street.
Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman said that NJ Transit has 2 bus stops near the site. She suggested they should be combined into one drop-of location.
Mercer County is reportedly planning to install a streetlight and a crosswalk on Clarksville Road, across from Village Square. Township engineer James Parvesse says the county has not asked West Windsor to pay for the improvements. Clarksville is a county road.
Following an accident on Princeton-Hightstown Road in February, 2005, when an elderly pedestrian was killed after being struck by a car, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh announced plans to work with Mercer County to add crosswalks, sidewalks, lighting, and traffic calming strategies on Route 571. The announced plan has still not been implemented.
The plan includes a crosswalk at Sherbrooke Drive, another location WWBPA has called attention to with a walk earlier this year.
