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The fatal accident early Saturday at the notoriously dangerous intersection of Railroad Avenue and Great East Neck Road in West Babylon has prompted formal requests to Babylon Town and Suffolk County for emergency safety measures to be implemented.
The two-car wreck, which claimed the lives of two people and left four others with devastating injuries, spurred Babylon Town Supervisor Richard Schaffer to follow up Tuesday on his request this summer to the county for a review and investigation into the dangers of the intersection.
Schaffer additionally forwarded to the county a letter he received today from West Babylon attorney Michael Rosenberger that formally asks the town to take action to make safety improvements at the intersection.
Schaffer told Greater Long Island he requested action from the county because Great East Neck Road and Railroad Avenue are maintained by the county.
“The intersection of Great East Neck Road and Railroad Avenue has long been notorious for poor sight lines, speeding motorists, and the failure to abide by traffic control devices,” Rosenberger wrote in a letter to the town on Tuesday.
“Our community deserves to feel safe. When driving towards that intersection in either direction, the community does not feel safe,” the attorney added. “We should not have to be afraid of speeding vehicles coming out of nowhere due to poor sight lines and countless other variables at that intersection on our way to get groceries or while taking our children to school in the morning.”
Schaffer said that during the summer, he offered the county the assistance of the town’s traffic highway staff, if necessary, to help look into possible safety measures at the intersection. Additionally, he noted that since Saturday’s crash, he has received several emails from the community regarding the intersection, and that he has forwarded the notes to the county.
It’s unclear if the county will conduct a formal review of the intersection. Suffolk County Department of Public Works Commissioner Charles Bartha has not replied to Greater Long Island requests for comment.
In his letter, Rosenberger made several suggestions for traffic safety measures at the intersection:
• Speed hump leading up to the traffic control devices near each intersection.
• Speed cushions.
• Rumble strips.
Suffolk County Police First Squad detectives are investigating the crash that killed two people and seriously injured four others at the intersection just after 1 a.m. on Saturday.
Michael Desmond, 33, of Lindenhurst was driving a 2017 Kia sedan east on Railroad Avenue and failed to stop at a red light at the intersection of Great East Neck Road when his vehicle struck a 2025 Kia Seltos traveling south on Great East Neck Road, police said.
Desmond, who was driving alone, died in the crash. One of the four passengers in the Kia Seltos, Riley Goot, 18, of Babylon, also was killed in a wreck that witnesses said sounded like an explosion.
Bella Trezza, 17, of Babylon, the driver of the Seltos, remains on life support at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip. Her brother Austin, 18, is hospitalized with serious injuries at Good Samaritan.
Jack Murphy 18, of Babylon, remains hospitalized at Good Samaritan in serious condition. An additional passenger, Anthony Pagliuca, 16, of West Babylon, is still being treated for serious injuries at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.
Top photo: Google Photos
