As of publication, it is known that drivers have killed at least 55 pedestrians/cyclists, so far, this year in Connecticut. We will most likely learn about other victims of traffic violence later — those whose deaths were never reported in the news and those who remain in critical condition days, weeks after the collision. The vast majority of these fatal crashes were predictable, as were most of those that occurred in October.
This is an inconvenient fact that those in positions of power try to erase quite often, whether that looks like a police officer doing some casual victim-blaming when a driver struck two elderly women — killing one — near Trumbull’s municipal buildings in September, or reporters talking about how a pedestrian was struck while walking near a fog line without ever mentioning that he was doing so because there were no sidewalks he could have used instead on Route 34 in West Haven.
When we talk about justice, we should first be concerned with if our streets are designed that way. Is the design fair to those who are outside of cars? Let’s focus on that rather than the brand of justice that is merely revenge, which does not improve conditions for all.
Before we get to October, we have to look at a fatal crash in September that was only reported within the bad guys/good guys framework.
Before we get to that, a reminder of the importance of identifying and responding to patterns. In theory, this is something we value — part of the college prep experience in public schools is devoted to teaching students how to recognize patterns; it shows up in the classroom and on the SATs. In our broader culture, we talk about what behaviors serve as red flags; for instance, it is a red flag when a partner/spouse does not trust you to make your own decisions, like who to vote for. One controlling behavior showing up once does not necessarily mean there is a domestic abuse situation, but seeing multiple signs again and again points in a particular direction.
If street violence were simply a matter of bad drivers, then we would see pedestrian/cyclist fatalities evenly distributed across the state and across all types of roadways. But, that’s not the case. Serious and fatal crashes happen most frequently when roads are designed to enable vehicles to be driven through without much slowing. This has been documented by me and it’s been documented by those who have all the fancy credentials. Anyone who simply blames the victim or the driver, and who downplays or outright dismisses the role of design deserves to be discredited. Fixating on the driver or the pedestrian is a form of revenge disguised as justice; seeking to amend vehicle and road design is a way to move us toward justice that behaves like equity.
Cooke Street
Waterbury
This collision happened on September 25, 2024 around 6 AM. The cyclist died on October 2, 2024. Only on October 18th did the media report the preventable death of 27-year old Luis Caceras, a Waterbury resident. Why that two week delay before reporting his death? My conclusion is that it’s because the news, by and large, does not care about the prevention of death — only law and order. The October 18, 2024 reports were all about the arrest of the driver. Had that not occurred, it’s probable that the cyclist’s death would have been unknown to the public until it surfaced in the UConn Crash Data Repository, and there, he would never have been named. No effort, that I can see, has been made by any local media to talk about who the victim was.
This preventable death happened at Cooke Street and Grove Street where there are no bike lanes.
Since 2015, three pedestrians and one other cyclist, a 14-year old, were killed by drivers on Waterbury’s Cooke Street.
You know what’s a red flag? Five pedestrian and cyclist deaths on one road since 2015. Let Waterbury’s City Engineer know that Cooke Street needs review. Contact Roy Cavanaugh at (203) 574-6851 or rcavanaugh@waterburyct.org
Route 12
Lisbon
Just before 10:30 PM on October 14, 2024, the driver of a 2020 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck took the life of pedestrian Richard Dupont.
The driver, a 36-year old Ledyard man who was likely familiar with Route 12 in Lisbon, reportedly drove his truck into Rich who was using the State road’s shoulder.
Reports say that he then drove into a guardrail and a telephone pole. The vehicle came to what is called an “uncontrolled rest” in the middle of the road. That means that the motorist was not the one responsible for bringing his massive truck to a stop. The details about that have not yet been released, but in other cases with an “uncontrolled rest,” it has sometimes meant the vehicle became undriveable due to multiple flat tires.
Reports were vague about precisely where this occurred, though one news outlet said the road had been closed at the intersection of Lee Road.
That location, like most on Route 12 in Lisbon, sets pedestrians up to be killed. There is no sidewalk. It is important to name this. Reporters, you need to state this when saying that someone is hit while walking along a shoulder. The pedestrian is not hanging out in that space randomly. It is because there is no sidewalk provided to them.
It is likely that Rich was walking home from work when he was killed. Shouldn’t it be possible for someone to safely travel to and from work?
Areas of Route 12 near strip malls have what I call checklist sidewalks. These are the kinds that get installed so a place can look accommodating and be checked off a list. These don’t actually connect to anything.
Where this crash likely occurred, there is a white-striped shoulder. Much of the rest of Route 12 doesn’t even have paint to mark the shoulder.
Street lights are not abundant on this stretch of road. It’s safe to say that it was a “dark – not lighted” situation. Look at the Google Maps screenshot. Do you see any street lights? I don’t. If a place isn’t willing to have adequate sidewalks, then it seems more important that they provide street lighting.
The posted speed limit here is 35 MPH, though previous crash reports for this area say that it’s 25, 30, 35, and even 45 MPH – again asking the question of what police filing the reports are basing their information off of. Vibes?
No reports that I saw asked how a vehicle that allegedly has “Blind Spot Monitoring” still managed to be driven into not only a pedestrian but several stationary objects.
As easy as it is to villainize the driver, we have to look at what enabled the motorist. Aside from poor road design, there’s the fact that while we have technology that does not allow a vehicle to be driven when it detects that the driver’s alcohol intake has been unsafe, we have not yet mandated its use in all vehicles. Reports state that the driver was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol when he drove into Rich.
In late August 2024, less than a mile away, a driver killed a 78-year old pedestrian on Route 12 in the Jewett City section of Griswold.
Eastern Connecticut is not exactly a hotbed of pedestrian activity. Two deaths on the same State road so close together in a matter of months should raise eyebrows and questions.
Contact the DOT about how they’re using their own Complete Streets directive: 203-238-6240
And, contact Lisbon’s elected officials to find out what they’re doing to improve Route 12.
In this case, the victim has a published obituary. Please pause to absorb the fact that this person in a town you might never have even heard of was a full person, and then remember that also about the victims who go unidentified or who have no obituaries.
From his obituary: “Rich was born in Norwich on July 17th, 1967. He was the son of Noel Dupont and Lorraine (Field) Fennessy and step son to Pauline Dupont. Rich graduated from Griswold High School in 1986.
Rich recently began working at Wal Mart in the meat and produce division. Prior to that, Rich worked at Better Val-U for the past 28 years. Rich was a loyal fan of the Red Sox and 49ers.
Many who have commented with high regards on social media after learning about Rich’s passing, noted that Rich could be seen regularly, walking to and from work. A testament to his work ethic and determination to go to work every day.”
Route 10
Hamden
Regular readers will recognize this problem spot. It’s not the first time I have posted this kind of map for Hamden’s section of Route 10.
This many dead pedestrians and a cyclist is an undeniable pattern.
Around 9:54 PM on October 16, 2024, a driver struck a still publicly unidentified pedestrian on Route 10 at Mather Street.
There are four lanes in one direction and five in the other on Route 10 at this intersection. This is one of the rare intersections on Route 10 where there are marked crosswalks and pedestrian lights, though five lanes to cross is still five lanes to cross.
This is the 13th pedestrian/cyclist killed on Hamden’s Route 10 since 2016. Nearly all pedestrian/cyclist deaths in Hamden have happened on Route 10.
The previous most recent pedestrian death on Route 10 in Hamden was in May 2024, and the female victim still has not been publicly identified five months later.
Contact the DOT about how they’re using their own Complete Streets directive: 203-238-6240.
Route 34
New Haven
The driver of a garbage truck collided with 24-year old cyclist and New Haven resident Nicolas Baltazar-Consepcion at the intersection of Route 34 and Church Street in New Haven around 2 AM on October 17, 2024.
This is the second cyclist killed on New Haven’s Route 34 since 2017; one of these crashes happened at York Street, where a pedestrian was killed in a separate collision.
There are paint-only bike lanes at two legs of the intersection; at two others, there are bicycle “sidepaths” which to the untrained reporter or cop might appear to be sidewalk. If someone is using a sidepath and trying to continue through the intersection, they have to suddenly exit that space and use the roadway.
From what I have read, it is unclear where the cyclist was and where the garbage truck driver was, exactly, when this crash happened.
Route 44
Hartford
The preventable fatal collision on October 20, 2024 happened on Route 44 which allegedly had a “road diet” several years ago; in reality, too many compromises were made to maintain the status quo for drivers. This included the poor choice of adding sharrows rather than barrier-protected bike lanes. Sharrows offer no protection to cyclists.
Roosevelt Vann, Jr. was the 7th cyclist/pedestrian killed by a driver on Hartford’s section of Route 44 since 2015; most of these deaths happened after the failed “road diet”.
At 12:02 AM a driver heading east on Route 44 killed Roosevelt, a 27-yr old cyclist from East Hartford. Rosevelt was pronounced dead about two hours later in the hospital.
Because Route 44 is a State of Connecticut managed road, please contact the DOT about how they’re using their own Complete Streets directive: 203-238-6240. Specifically, ask them to improve this design since it is obviously not working.
A ghost bike has been installed near the site of where the driver collided with Roosevelt. The memorial plaque reads: “A cyclist was killed here on October 20, 2024. This ghost bike is in memory of him, and all others hurt or killed by cars while riding bikes. Slow down, share the road, don’t drive distracted. Thank you, –your neighbors who love to ride bikes.”
Unfortunately, there is no obituary yet for Roosevelt Vann, Jr., but it looks like a placeholder page has been created.
Route 34
West Haven
If you’re looking at that and thinking I made a mistake because you just read about Route 34 a few minutes ago, unfortunately, this is not an error.
Just over a week since the fatal cyclist collision on Route 34 in New Haven, there was a fatal pedestrian collision on Route 34 in West Haven.
This was the third time that a driver killed a pedestrian on a 0.3 mi stretch of Route 34 in West Haven since 2019.
A driver traveling east on Route 34 in West Haven struck and killed a male pedestrian at 10:40 PM on October 25, 2024. Over a week later, and the pedestrian still has not been publicly identified.
There is no sidewalk at all on one side of Route 34, a four-lane road with a posted speed limit of 35 MPH. This is the side of the road that the pedestrian was walking on when he was struck. Not one news outlet bothered to mention this detail that would explain why the person was walking “by the fog line.”
At the intersection near where this happened, the crosswalks are not painted. There are no pedestrian signal heads; pedestrians are never given an opportunity to safely cross.
The sidewalk is inconsistent on other sections of Route 34, so it was never as simple as someone only needing to cross the road to be on the side where there was a space for pedestrians. That space was never consistently provided for people on foot.
This is yet another example of the State of Connecticut and City of West Haven failing to exercise their shared responsibility in providing adequate infrastructure for all road users.
Contact decision-makers and ask why there are no facilities for pedestrians in an area where pedestrians are known to be:
West Haven: Mayor Borer – dborer@westhaven-ct.gov
State of Connecticut DOT: Michael.Calabrese@ct.gov
Church Hill Road
Newtown
In week 44 of the year, a driver killed the 55th (known) pedestrian/cyclist of the year. This happened on a non-Route 6 segment of Church Hill Road. That distinction will be clear soon.
The driver of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck struck and killed pedestrian Peter Blomberg at 6:16 PM on Monday, October 28, 2024.
The posted speed limit is 35 MPH for this part of Church Hill, not far from the I-84 ramps, though the speed drops to a more reasonable 25 MPH east of the crash intersection; it is unknown why this slowing isn’t before the area where pedestrian use is expected. It is also 35 MPH on the Route 6 segment of Church Hill, before Route 6 joins I-84. The non-Route 6 section of Church Hill is a bit more narrow, but not enough considering the village character being sought after in the Sandy Hook area.
It has been stated that Pete was crossing Church Hill towards the westbound shoulder. The “shoulder” suggests he was crossing to reach a vehicle rather than the sidewalk or a building on the other side of the road. This could also just be reporters parroting cop talk, which is frequently unhelpful for the public.
This section of Church Hill Road has sidewalk missing from one side of the road. Only one leg of the intersection with Dayton Street has a marked crosswalk.
No doubt because of the victim’s status, we have not received the usual speculation about whether or not he was using the marked crosswalk at the time. The media should show respect for all victims in this way by not going straight into victim-blaming.
Nothing has been said about the quality of street lighting in the crash area. A previous collision nearby in 2016 – in which the person was crossing from the area of a restaurant to the church parking lot and was not in the marked crosswalk – stated that the area was “dark-not lighted”. That pedestrian was seriously injured after the driver of a Ford F-250 Super Duty pick up truck struck him.
It does not seem that any road or lighting improvements were made since that crash in 2016.
From Google Maps, it’s known that sometimes there has been a centerline yield sign at the marked crosswalk near or at the crash site. It is unknown if that sign was present on October 28, 2024.
Contact the director of Newtown’s DPW and request they evaluate the transition from Route 6/Church Hill Road to Church Hill Road in terms of speed, street lighting, sidewalks, and marked crosswalks. Those crosswalks should reflect where people desire to cross rather than autocentric ideas about where they should. Contact Frederick Hurley at (203) 270-4300.
According to Pete’s obituary:
“Pete graduated from St Rose of Lima Grammar School and Newtown High School. He apprenticed as a cabinet maker and became an accomplished finish carpenter, a trade he continued practicing throughout his life. Later in his career, he assumed a maintenance position with the Newtown School System, until his retirement a short six weeks ago.
Pete began his fire service career over a half-century ago with Hawleyville Fire Company, and then with United Fire Company of Botsford (now Botsford Fire Rescue), where he rose through the ranks to become First Assistant Chief.
Pete was also a certified State Fire Instructor, participating in many of the regional Firefighter 1 and 2 classes, and served as a certified Station Evaluator at numerous regional evaluation sites. He had a reputation of being very fair when interacting with students who enjoyed the privilege of his instruction and subsequent evaluations.
Until very recently, Pete was among the first responders at fire scenes to strap on an air pack and head into burning buildings. He had a spectacular record of responding to nearly all the calls for service Botsford Fire Rescue received and was often among those first on the scene at calls in other districts.
Pete kept the community of Newtown foremost in his thoughts throughout his life, second only to his devoted and loving family, friends, and colleagues. He never said No when there was a call for help, whether it came in the line of duty or from someone he learned who just needed a helping hand.”
That’s six pedestrians/cyclists who needlessly lost their lives in October 2024 on Connecticut’s roads. Five of those six were State of Connecticut DOT maintained roads, and the one that wasn’t was State Road-adjacent. Where is the State’s accountability? How are we demanding that they prioritize equity?
