By:Laura Lane
At Sunrise Highway and Merrick Avenue, there-s an old oak tree surrounded by flowers that someone planted. Fixed to the tree-s midsection is a toy basketball hoop adorned with artificial flowers. And on a square wooden board nailed to the tree, someone wrote the number 3 and the name of a Merrick boy who was killed only a few feet away, on Sunrise.
The tree is a memorial to 14-year-old Dustin Freda, who died in August 2001 while trying to cross Sunrise. Freda-s family says the tree also serves as a warning of how dangerous the highway can be to cross on foot.
Freda-s death sparked public interest in improving conditions for pedestrians who must cross Sunrise, which is a state highway. But a Herald investigation found that next to nothing has been done since 2001 to address potentially hazardous conditions at Sunrise and Merrick Avenue, which is a county road. And according to traffic studies, accidents there and at the Sunrise-s Hewlett Avenue intersection have continued to rise over the years.
Mary Cariola, Freda-s mother, said in a recent interview with the Herald that her son hoped to become a professional basketball player, played on the Merrick Avenue Middle School team and adopted the number 3 in honor of his hero, Alan Iverson, of the Philadelphia 76ers. Had Freda lived, he would have graduated from Calhoun High School this year.
The driver who struck Freda was never found. He or she stopped just long enough to leave the boy-s lifeless body behind in Sunrise-s right lane. The car then sped away, turning down Hewlett Avenue. Freda-s case remains open.
On the day her son was killed, Cariola was forever changed. My daughter left for college a few weeks after Dustin was killed, she said. I went from a house full of kids to nothing. Life has been hard for the Merrick resident, who said she struggles at times to keep going. My baby was snatched from me, she said. I feel like I didn-t complete my job.
What the stats say
Statistics gathered by the Nassau County Police Department Traffic Safety Unit for the Herald indicate that the number of accidents on Sunrise Highway at Merrick and Hewlett avenues continues to grow. At the Merrick Avenue intersection, there were 102 accidents from January 2001 through July 2004. At the Hewlett Avenue intersection, there were 82 accidents in that same period.
Merrick residents have worried about Sunrise Highway for years. Mark Schwartz was so concerned that he conducted his own accident analysis in November 2001. He gathered data from the Nassau County Traffic Safety Unit, which listed the number of crashes from January 1997 to June 2000 at Sunrise Highway and Merrick Avenue. Schwartz counted 73 accidents. He summarized the statistics, created a chart and presented his findings to the Central High School District.
I was fighting to have the bus mileage changed, said Schwartz, whose daughter wasn-t eligible to get a bus at the time. At the school board meetings, I talked about the huge traffic increases on Sunrise. I grew up in Merrick, and I remember walking across that street. Schwartz said his children aren-t allowed to walk across Sunrise Highway, not even with a crossing guard. The crossing guard is nice and all, but she can-t stop a car, he said.
A closer look at Schwartz-s study reveals the number of accidents was even greater than originally thought. The Herald found 92 crashes at the Merrick Avenue intersection between March 1997 and June 2000. Statistics prior to March weren-t available at press time.
Derek Donnelly, president of the Merrick Gables Homeowners Association, said he often fields complaints from residents about Sunrise Highway. Crossing Sunrise Highway is like trying to cross the Long Island Expressway, Donnelly said. It-s hard for me. I can-t imagine how an elderly person or someone infirm could get across it.
Barry Fox, president of the Merrick Park Home Owners Association, agreed, saying, When you-re crossing Sunrise Highway, you-re going across six lanes of traffic. It-s tough to cross this street, and even more so at night, when Dustin was killed.
In February 2001, Fox tried unsuccessfully to convince the state Department of Transportation to install a device on the walk/don-t walk signs that would show how much time remained before the light turned green. We wanted people to know how much time they-d have left to cross, Fox said. But the Department of Transportation said no.
Eileen Peters, a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said that people don-t generally use the walk/don-t walk devices properly. The devices are set for a walking pace of 3.5 feet per second to cross Sunrise Highway, which is less than the standard walking pace of four feet per second, Peters said. The problem is, people run back if they see Ôdon-t walk- flash. The fact is, they have time to cross.
The DOT conducted a study in June 2001 to consider civic groups- and local elected leaders- requests to address the problems on Sunrise. A pedestrian count was conducted. The Department of Transportation found there weren-t enough people crossing Sunrise Highway to change the pedestrian clearance time, which is the amount of time walkers get to cross the road.
Joan Phillips, former president of the Merrick Avenue Middle School PTA, said there have always been complaints about Sunrise Highway. I know as an adult, your head is constantly turning as you try to cross Sunrise. You just don-t know who is going to come out from where, Phillips said. Sometimes you get caught in the middle of it, and I don-t feel safe.
Phillips said she worries that a car might hit her as she waits on the cement strip that divides the east- and westbound traffic. You have to run very fast to cross that street, she said.
What can be done?
Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat of Merrick, believes the state should step in. There is no exclusion from the state law for Sunrise Highway, which means [the state doesn-t] have to help fund buses for children, Denenberg said. They should have to at least help fund the buses, since children would have to cross a six-lane highway if they don-t get a ride to school.
A few years ago, the Central High School District reduced its mileage requirement, which allowed more students to take buses, in part so they wouldn-t have to cross Sunrise. Denenberg said, The school district has had to cover the cost, which means a tax increase for residents. The state should recognize they-ve created a problem with Sunrise and give the school district a break.
Debbie Foy, the current Merrick Avenue Middle School PTA president, said that children living in Merrick Manor or near the Merrick Library aren-t eligible for busing, and their parents have often complained. When the bond was passed a few years ago to increase busing, more kids got busing, but there are still a handful that don-t, Foy said. If the concern to pass the bond was for the kids crossing Sunrise Highway, why would you exclude those children?
Foy has children in the elementary, middle and high schools. She doesn-t allow any of them to cross Sunrise Highway. The only people I see trying to cross Sunrise are commuters. It-s too dangerous for kids to cross over that street, she said.
Denenberg has written many letters to the Department of Transportation, asking that the timing of the lights be changed to give pedestrians more time to cross Sunrise, all to no avail. Three years ago, however, Denenberg and the county Department of Public Works were able to get the sequencing of lights changed in Bellmore. The Department of Transportation told Public Works that they would fix them, which initially was effective, Denenberg said.
The legislator said he-s received complaint letters for years from Merrick residents. I-ve written letters to the Department of Transportation suggesting they fix the lighting sequence and street crossings so that people can cross Sunrise in one lighting sequence, the legislator said. But the Department of Transportation hasn-t responded, except to say that it-s looking into the matter.
State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican of Merrick, said the DOT should conduct another study to determine the number of pedestrians who cross Sunrise. I go jogging in the morning and cross Sunrise Highway, Fuschillo said. Sometimes it-s a challenge to cross it.
State Assemblyman David McDonough, a Republican of North Merrick, said of the Sunrise Highway intersections, The walk time is sufficient. The problem is the left-turn situation at Hewlett. Currently there-s no left-turn signal on Hewlett for those traveling north or south. I had spoken to the Department of Transportation, and they said if they put one in, traffic on Sunrise would be unbelievable, the assemblyman said.
But McDonough believes that potential traffic problems on Sunrise could be managed if the speed limit were reduced. If Sunrise Highway had a more controlled speed, which was enforced, people would follow the speed limits, and traffic would flow nicely, he said.
Currently, the speed limit for eastbound traffic is 45 miles per hour, and westbound is set at 55. If you-re traveling east on Sunrise to Merrick Avenue, you can pick up a lot of speed. I-d like to see that speed reduced, McDonough said.
But the state Department of Transportation traffic study stated, Posted speed limits have only a nominal effect on overall traffic speeds ... The DOT concluded that lowering the speed limit would hinder traffic-flow efficiency and fail to improve safety.
Like McDonough, Fuschillo has requested that the Department of Transportation add a turn signal at Hewlett Avenue. I-ve talked to the Department of Transportation about this for the past year, and they-re considering another traffic study, Fuschillo said. I think the turn signal on Hewlett would improve pedestrian safety and traffic as well.
An unsolved case
Catching Dustin Freda-s killer remains a priority for Nassau County police. Gary Ferrucci, a homicide detective, said he often thinks about the case. I never had any credible lead or tip, Ferrucci said. I always hope the driver will get arrested for something else or have a conscious moment of sanity and turn himself in.
For Freda-s family and friends, his death is as painful today as it was in 2001. Each year in August, Cariola invites his friends to a barbecue at her house. In the evening, they hold a candlelight vigil at the oak-tree memorial.
I don-t know if the police found the person who killed Dustin, if it would give me the closure I need, Cariola said. But sometimes I think I want to be able to look the person straight in the eye, and then I want to ask them, ÔWhy did you leave?-
Next week: A look at the many potential ways to alleviate Sunrise Highway dangers.
