By KAREN RICE
A Hewlett High freshman sustained a broken arm when he was hit by a car at the intersection, Broadway and Everit Avenue, on Dec. 3, according to officials. Robert Aiken, 14, of Woodmere, who was going out to lunch with a group of 10 to 15 friends, was struck by a car driven by a 36-year-old man from Hewlett, police said. The driver had a green light and was traveling northeast on Broadway, at Everit Avenue, in his 2002 Chevrolet when he struck the student, police said. The driver was not charged, police added.
Aiken is on the school's bowling team, plays basketball in St. Joseph's R.C. Church's youth league, works at Woodmere Bowling Lanes and planned to play on Hewlett's baseball team in the spring. Now he has a metal plate and six pins in his arm, and his mother, Deidre, fears he may have trouble ever playing sports well again.
People are trying to beat the light, she said. There should be somebody there [helping students cross]. My son could have been killed.
School officials and the Hewlett High School Wellness Committee agreed, saying this wasn't an isolated incident. The intersection has seen its share of accidents involving cars and pedestrians and, according to the committee, something must be done about it before a pedestrian is more seriously injured or killed.
The situation is growing more dangerous, said Joyce Bisso, Hewlett High School principal. There are more cars, more kids all the mores' multiply the frequency of serious accidents. It is a narrow and highly traveled street. During the school day there is a huge number of pedestrians and the street is already congested.
Another student was injured about six weeks ago at the same intersection, she said.
Bisso is asking Nassau County to provide a crossing guard or an auxiliary or uniformed police officer to help students cross in combination with a traffic study and a stepped-up traffic-enforcement program at the county-controlled intersection.
An alarm has been sounded, she said. Something needs to be done.
Dr. Charles Fowler, superintendent of the Hewlett-Woodmere School District, agreed that the addition of a crossing guard or police officer is a good plan, and that students should be educated about personal safety and signal and signage options should be considered.
We know there's a problem there, he said. It is a pretty dangerous situation. We can't afford to do nothing.
Mara Jacobowitz, a member of the high school's health and safety and wellness committees as well as the district transportation committee, believes that a permanent crossing guard is a worthwhile investment. People should be driving defensively, but these students, we know, are not using good judgment, said Jacobowitz, who's also a parent of a Hewlett High School student. It's a volatile situation.
She said that assigning a crossing guard to the intersection as well as the one at Broadway and Piermont Avenue, by the Burger King, will benefit everybody. I'd be willing to see a raise in my taxes for it, she said.
Town Councilman Anthony Santino (R-Hewlett) also said that a crossing guard was the best solution. Immediately, no ifs, ands or buts, he said. It should be number one on County Executive Suozzi's list.
Santino added that he would be willing to come to the high school and personally educate the students on street safety. You can't do enough to educate young people, he said.
Nassau County Legis. Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) is also interested in helping to rectify the situation, but questioned the effectiveness of a crossing guard because many students may feel it isn't cool to cross the street with one. High school students, I am told by police officers, have a tendency to move to the middle of a block when they see a crossing guard, he said. I'm not sure a crossing guard is a viable solution. I'd like to talk to [traffic officials] before I make a decision.
Linda Strohmenger, a member of Hewlett High School's Wellness Committee and a parent of a high school student, disagreed that a crossing guard is a questionable choice.
Who cares what the kids think? she asked. If they choose not to cross with a crossing guard, that's their problem. [Nassau County] should provide a crossing guard. Right now they've done nothing. I hope they aren't waiting for a fatality.
Deidre Aiken agreed, asking, What are they going to do wait until a child is killed?
Far from it, according to Ray Ribeiro, assistant director of traffic engineering for Nassau County. We conducted a study starting [last] summer, Ribeiro said, and as a result we've come up with some recommendations to improve pedestrian safety and vehicular movement. Among the county's suggestions for the intersection are new traffic markings on the pavement; an additional crosswalk by the Burger King with a button-activated crossing sign; additional signage alerting drivers to the presence of pedestrians, and a no-left-turn sign by the Burger King drive-through.
Ribeiro said an improvement project would start next spring at three intersections Broadway and East Broadway, Broadway and Everit and Broadway and Piermont and is expected to be completed by next September at the latest. He added that a crossing guard at the intersection isn't necessary, because most accidents occur when pedestrians jay-walk or ignore traffic signals, which only makes the interaction of pedestrians and drivers more dangerous.
