By:Jerry Burke
The study, conducted by Manhattan-based nonprofit commuter advocacy group Tri-State Transportation Campaign, found that during the five years in question, Suffolk County had the four deadliest roads in the state. The Suffolk section of Jericho Turnpike topped the list, with 78 deaths, followed by 71 on Sunrise Highway, 38 on the Long Island Expressway and 35 on Route 25A.
Of the 34 deaths on Hempstead Turnpike, 23 were pedestrians who were hit by automobiles.
The study does not include fatalities in Elmont and Franklin Square in 2003 and 2004, including the most recent incidents: the May 7 hit-and-run death of 14-year-old Jessica Savarese near Claflin Boulevard, and the fatal April 20 crash in Elmont that claimed three lives, including 13-year-old Fermin Bravo and 14-year-old Jose Hernandez.
Queens Boulevard, often referred to by residents as the "Boulevard of Death," placed ninth on the list, with 26 fatalities. The Nassau County section of Sunrise Highway ranked eighth, with 30 deaths, raising the road's two-county total to 101.
Tri-State spokeswoman Kate Slevin said the report relied exclusively on a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration database called the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The study did not take into account the reasons for the accidents, including road design, speed, driver variables, traffic volume and locations where accidents occur frequently.
Slevin said the report was limited its in scope because the state Department of Transportation has been reluctant to release such information to the public. "It's ridiculous we can get these numbers through federal sources [the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration], but that you can't get information from your own state," she said.
Calls to the State DOT for comment on the report were not returned. Another study, complied by members of Assemblyman Tom Alfano's intern staff in 2000, examined traffic patterns up and down Hempstead Turnpike. The study concluded that illegal left turns and pedestrians not crossing at crosswalks were the most common traffic infringements noted.
A spokesman for Alfano's office also pointed out that the section of Hempstead Turnpike near the Queens border is a very high-volume thoroughfare, with the Cross Island Parkway bringing lots of traffic from both directions at all hours of the day.
Calls from civic organizations and politicians to increase police presence on these roads have risen with each incident, but Fifth Squad detectives assure the public that they are doing the best they can with their limited staff. "We can't get into the heads of people who make the decision to be reckless," said one officer who did not wish to be identified.
