West Windsor Township is facing a $1 million lawsuit from the parents of a 14-year-old Princeton girl who died in an accident on a notoriously dangerous stretch of Alexander Road last September.##M:[more]##
Last November the township was notified that the estate of Rebecca Annitto had filed a notice of claim for damages under the state Tort Claims Act. The act, which protects governmental bodies from lawsuits, allows actions for injuries resulting from allowing a dangerous situation to persist.
On September 14, Annitto, a sophomore at Stuart Country Day School, died in an accident at the S-curve between the Glenview development and the Delaware & Raritan Canal. Annitto and four of her friends were driving home from rowing practice at Mercer County Park when the accident occurred.
Attorney Albert Stark, who is representing Annitto’s parents, William and Michal, alleges that the township, Mercer County, and the state knowingly allowed a dangerous situation to exist on the stretch of road, and since the accident has taken very little action to correct the problem.
Annitto was a passenger in a 1986 Mercedes that skidded out of control on rain-slicked pavement at the curve into the opposing lane of traffic, and collided with another car. Annitto died later that evening as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
In the accident’s wake, many, including Annitto’s father, questioned why the dangerous situation at the curve was not remedied before someone was killed. According to sources, Annitto sent a letter to Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh blaming the township’s inaction for his daughter’s death.
“It is an unsafe road,” says Stark. “They (the township) had even noticed that it was dangerous.”
The curve was listed as the third-most hazardous stretch of road in the township, according to the results of a study that administration presented to council several months before the accident.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh publicly released the results of the study following Annitto’s death, in response to growing concern of unsafe road conditions. Ironically, the existence of that list may prove to be a negative in court.
Stark notes that the township identified the curve as hazardous, but took no action to make it safer until after the accident, when the township put up signs alerting drivers to the curve and warning of slippery conditions when wet.
To date, only the notice of claim has been filed, says Stark. A lawsuit will eventually follow. “Right now the Annittos are healing. They don’t want to do anything until they have a chance to heal as best they can. They lost their daughter and they really want the township to do something about the road so this doesn’t happen again.”
“They’re not money hungry,” Stark says, pointing out that both of Annitto’s parents are successful doctors. “They really want something to be done on that road. The Annittos are suing for safety. They can’t bring back their daughter, but they want something to be done so other families don’t have to suffer like they are.”
Hsueh says he has been aware of the notice for several months. He declined further comment, based on the advice of Township Attorney Michael Herbert.
“The lawsuit makes allegations of negligence,” says Herbert. “We deny any responsibility of any kind. This was a tragic accident, but it had nothing to do with the ground surface or configuration of the road.”
News of the Annittos’ $1 million action comes as the community mourns the loss of a 17-year-old High School North girl in a fatal accident similar to the one that killed Annitto.
Stephanie Au-Yeung was killed on March 12 when she skidded off the s-curve at the railroad bridge on Route 571 and into a tree. As in the Annitto crash, the road was wet from rain in Au-Yeung’s accident.
The bridge and its approaches are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation. The stretch of road, officially state Route 64, but not marked as such, is the smallest highway in New Jersey.
According to Hsueh, the DOT is working to make safety improvements to the area where the accident occurred. Reportedly, plans include a 125-foot extension of the guardrail that might have prevented Au-Yeung’s car from careening into the tree. NJDOT representatives did not return phone calls by press time.
DOT workers have visited the site to begin assessing measures to be taken, according to Township Engineer James Parvesse. He says the department is considering not only extending the guardrail, but also improving striping on the road and installing warning signs.
“It is my understanding that any time a fatality occurs on a state highway the NJDOT has its professionals review the circumstances surrounding the accident to determine whether any improvements, long or short term, should be completed,” Parvesse says. “Their goal is to try to prevent a similar accident from happening in the future; however, this does not suggest that there is going to be an improvement every time.”
“If a long-term improvement is required, it can take years,” Parvesse says adding that the state hasn’t informed the township of the results of its investigation, or the scope of any improvements. “The state is looking at that roadway, and they are looking at all the possibilities. It’s premature to suggest what their assessment might be.”
Frequently, when township officials identify a road safety problem on a road under the jurisdiction of another entity, it takes a Herculean effort to get improvements made.
Such was the case just recently in West Windsor where it took almost a year of discussions with Mercer County officials to correct a road safety concern expressed by residents of the Village Grande development. (See story on next page).
Business Administrator Chris Marion says the administration is focused on improving safety throughout the township. He says that administration is working with the township council to work the road safety improvements into the township’s six-year capital improvement program.
The administration study identified unsafe roads by reviewing accident data between 2001 and 2003. It determined 15 locations where the most accidents occurred, ranked them based on a severity weighting, and offered potential solutions to increase safety.
The entire list of the most hazardous roads by administration is as follows:
• Intersection of Alexander Road and Canal Pointe Boulevard;
• Alexander Road at North Post Road (the T-intersection at the railroad bridge);
• The Alexander Road S-curve;
• Canal Pointe Boulevard at Carnegie Center Boulevard;
• Alexander Road at Harris Road;
• Alexander Road at Roszel Road;
• Alexander Road at Bear Brook Road/Vaughn Drive;
• Village Road at South Lane;
• New Village Road at Village Road/Baxter Place;
• Alexander Road at Scott Avenue;
• Canal Pointe Boulevard at Meadow Road;
• Wallace Road at Wallace Circle
• Alexander Road at Wallace Road;
• Alexander Road at Carnegie Way/Campus Drive; and
• Meadow Road at Old Meadow Road.
Township Engineer James Parvesse says, “On all projects of this kind, we must spend time looking at what can be done and what should be done. We evaluate the need for changes, to best utilize the funds available. Every year we get more information, which lets us be more precise about what will be done.”
While residents wait for changes to take place, Parvesse suggests that drivers remain aware of the areas that have been identified as troublesome.
“Drive a little slower around sharp curves, especially during wet conditions, abide by the speed limits, and be aware, especially when the weather brings bad driving conditions,” he says.
According to Parvesse, road projects approved for this year focus on residential streets, including improving the Princeton Ivy development, located behind High School South. Millstone Road will also be improved.
In 2007, some of the spots on the list of 15 dangerous sites will be addressed, in particular Canal Point Boulevard and Wallace Road.
Following the Annitto accident, Hsueh said the township is working as best as it can to improve hazardous road conditions, given financial constraints. “I have tried to look at the township as a whole and implement programs that address infrastructure maintenance proactively rather than reactively.”
“As elected and/or appointed township officials, we are always deeply affected by accidents that occur in the township that lead to serious injury or death,” said Hsueh. “While it is true that the township cannot make everyone safe in all circumstances, we certainly want to take actions to improve conditions wherever we can.”
There are cases, though, in West Windsor where fatal accidents have brought about road improvements that improved safety.
In 1993 and 1994 fatal accidents occurred on Princeton-Hightstown Road as a result of motorists making left turns from North Mill Road. The road was reconfigured to only allow right turns as a result of the accidents.
In 1999 a Robbinsville man was killed in an accident at the intersection of Village Road West and Edinburg Road. It was the third car crash at the intersection that week. Several months after the accident, the township worked a deal with Mercer County for the installation of a traffic signal.
Last year a 79-year-old woman was killed when she and her husband were struck by a car while crossing Route 571 between Alexander and Clarksvile Roads. Within two months the county announced it was making safety improvements to Route 571, including the area of the fatal.
In all three instances, no fatal accidents occurred after improvements were made.
– Bill Sanservino, with reporting by Peter Shaughnessy
