In September 2021, the driver of an SUV crashed into a three-year-old boy on West Hartford’s Oakwood Avenue at the intersection with St. James Street. This happened at 3:18 on a clear, dry afternoon. The child was described in the police report as having possibly been injured.
In addition to a driver managing to strike a child in daylight when there were no weather conditions obstructing visibility or ability to stop, the boy was struck while in the marked crosswalk. He was struck while in the marked crosswalk, while crossing with an adult. He was struck in the marked crosswalk while crossing with an adult at an intersection where there are shark’s teeth. He was struck while in the marked crosswalk while crossing with an adult at an intersection with shark’s teeth and a crossing guard who was holding up a stop sign. You can see all this in the diagram below that is found in the UConn Crash Data Repository:
Despite there being three witnesses to this collision, the vehicle’s make and model remains unknown three years later.
Just over three years later, another driver crashed into another pedestrian at the same intersection.
But, before we get into that, a necessary reminder that these were not the only two pedestrians injured by drivers on Oakwood Avenue.
In 1953, a driver struck and killed a 64-year old pedestrian who was using Oakwood Avenue at Englewood Avenue; this was less than one block from where the victim lived.
In 1996, a seven-year old child was crossing Oakwood Avenue south of this intersection but north of Charter Oak International Academy when a van driver struck him. Fortunately, the boy eventually recovered, but he was in a coma for a week and reportedly suffered skull fractures, a brain injury, and a pelvic fracture. Two years after the crash, the child’s mother sued the Town of West Hartford for negligence. That followed what I can only describe as high profile victim-blaming; there were no safe crossings or crossing guards in the area, and yet the child was taken to task for “dashing” into the road.
The speed limit on this section of Oakwood Avenue is 30 MPH. There are lots of signs telling motorists to expect pedestrians; signs require attention and empathy from motorists. There are also sharrows on one side of the road and a paint-only bike lane on the other. There is nothing to prevent motorists from driving into and parking in the bike lane. There are no speed tables to assist inattentive and uncaring motorists in slowing down.
At 5:06 PM on Friday, November 8, 2024, a motorist struck Patricia Brulotte, 87, who was crossing Oakwood Avenue at St. James Street. Sunset was at 4:36 PM. Nothing has been said by reporters about whether or not street lighting was on and/or sufficient at the time of the crash; nothing was said about if the driver was had the vehicle’s headlights turned on. No explanation has been provided for why a driver failed to avoid striking an 87-year old woman on a 30 MPH street.
Patricia was, at least, the 56th pedestrian/cyclist that drivers killed in Connecticut this year. Hers was the second preventable pedestrian fatality of 2024 in West Hartford; the other victim was an 80-year old man who needed to cross only one road to go between his home and shul, and West Hartford could not offer even that level of safety. In 2022 on West Hartford’s roads, drivers killed an 89-year old woman crossing Boulevard, a 67-year old man standing on the town green, and a 60-year old man using Mohegan Drive where there were no street lights.
The Town of West Hartford needs to do more than send thoughts and prayers. They need to do more to protect people simply trying to move around in town, and the way to do that is through policy change. Contact the town manager ( TownManager@WestHartfordCT.gov ) and members of the West Hartford town council ( comment@WestHartfordCT.gov ) to let them know that an 87-year old woman being killed on Oakwood Avenue is unacceptable and that they need to do more to prevent future deaths and injuries. Suggest lowering the speed limit, installing speed tables and/or speed humps, and raised crosswalks. Ask them to assess the quality of street lighting on Oakwood Avenue, including checking what time the lights turn on at night. Ask that they do a street safety audit at night and without the benefit of hi-vis vests so that they have a realistic sense of user experience.
Residents were complaining to West Hartford’s management in 1967 about how children struggled to safely cross Oakwood Avenue to reach Kennedy Park — not far from the intersection where Patricia was needlessly killed on Friday night. In 1990, a crossing guard on Oakwood Avenue near the fatal crash site complained that motorists were “going too fast, running red lights, and disregarding traffic signs and crosswalks.” Let those elected and appointed decision-makers know that you are ready for actual progress.
