By John Burton
RED BANK – An incident recently involving a pedestrian and two motor vehicles on Broad Street, once again reminds us that Red Bank remains a potentially dangerous place for pedestrians.
A female employee of a local financial firm on Broad Street told this week of a harrowing incident that could have ended in a serious injury if not death for her or others involved.
On Tuesday, July 28, Michelle Bennett was attempting to cross Broad at the Mechanic Street intersection, going west to east. She stressed she was in the designated crosswalk. And while looking to cross, a van transporting an elderly woman stopped as required under law to give the pedestrian the right-of-way. As the woman attempted to walk across the street a young woman driver collided into the rear of the van. “She hit him pretty good,” the pedestrian said of the female driver.
The collision pushed the van forward. And had the pedestrian not been quick enough to jump out of the way (actually having to jump out of her shoes to avoid being struck by the van), she too would have been hit in the chain reaction. Her shoes were halfway under the van that had been pushed for ward.
“The van was pretty banged up,” the pedestrian said, recalling the driver of the second vehicle had “been moving at a pretty good speed.”
Police did respond. However, the pedestrian was uncertain about any violations that may have been issued.
Borough Police Chief Darren McConnell on Wednesday said the report was not immediately available and couldn’t recall the incident sufficiently to immediately offer a comment.
Mayor Pasquale Menna, an attorney who is a municipal prosecutor for a number of Monmouth County communities and a member of the Two River Times Crossroads initiative, said it sounded like a classic example of careless driving. Which, under state statute, Menna explained, is “any driver who operates a motor vehicle without due care and circumspection.”
“And it should be enforced,” Menna added.
Unfortunately, he added, it is fact of life that no amount of enforcement would be able to completely protect against such occurrences. “Accidents happen. It’s regrettable, it’s unfortunate,” he said. “How do you account for individual accidents, individual carelessness, day in and day out in all of our lives?” State Senator Jennifer Beck (R-11), a Red Bank resident, said the emphasis has to be “all about getting expectations from people living in town and visiting the town,” making everyone aware “that we enforce the crosswalks; there are penalties and there also have to be communications for people visiting the town that this is a pedestrian town.”
The senator added that the public has to be made aware that Broad Street is a busy thoroughfare, heavily used by vehicles and those on foot. “And if you’re in rush don’t go down Broad Street.”
Beck is also a participant in the Two River Times Crossroads initiative. The publication has been actively working with elected officials on the state, county and local level, along with members of the education, business and law enforcement communities and other stakeholders to find ways to improve public safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in the greater Red Bank area. The newspaper will soon hold a public safety to raise awareness and public forum seeking input about troublesome areas and proposed solutions.
