In the wake of the latest fatality on the Route 50 arterial in Saratoga Springs, the state Department of Transportation is preparing to do a traffic and safety review on the roadway.
An unidentified man was struck and killed by a motor vehicle last Thursday while crossing Route 50 at Marion Avenue. The victim, a white male in his late 30s to early 40s, was crossing Route 50 at Marion Avenue about 10:40 p.m. when he was hit by a car traveling north on the thoroughfare. The car was driven by Kimberly Debus, 41, of Round Lake.
This is the third serious accident on the road in less than a year. Last October, Skidmore College junior Philip Eckstein of Manhattan was killed early in the morning of his 21st birthday when he was struck by a Saratoga County sheriff’s deputy patrol car at Route 50 and Gick Road. Police described the accident scene as dark and rainy with low visibility, and a grand jury later cleared the deputy of wrongdoing in the case.
In February of this year, Melvin Jones, 28, of Second Street, was struck as he crossed Route 50 at East Avenue. He suffered severe head injuries and multiple fractures.
Eckstein’s mother, Carolyn R. Kohn, is suing the city, state, county and the power company, as a result of her son’s death.
Lt. Gary Forward of the Saratoga Springs Police Department said it is illegal to walk along Route 50, just as it is illegal to walk on any limited-access state highway. But pedestrians can cross the road, Forward said, as long as they cross with the green light.
That was not the case Thursday night, Forward said, as the victim wearing a black hooded sweat shirt, black jeans and black Adidas sneakers had a red light as he walked from the Adirondack Trust Co. ATM toward the city waterworks.
The victim is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and 175 pounds. He has brown and gray hair, with a receding hairline, and hazel eyes. Forward said police thought they’d identified him through fingerprints, but Monday morning the state Division of Criminal Justice Services reported there was not a match. Police distributed an autopsy picture of the man’s face Monday to police departments throughout the region in hopes that those officers recognize him, and will use dental imprints to attempt to identify him.
City police have registered the victim’s information in a national registry.
Forward said he expects to release a photo of the unidentified man to the media soon. Anyone with information is asked to call the Saratoga Springs Police Department at 584-1800.
DOT engineers should begin a study of the intersections of Marion Avenue and East Avenue, and Marion Avenue and Maple Avenue, on Route 50 by the end of September, according to DOT spokesman Pete Van Keuren.
He said the study, which will include a traffic count measured with pneumatic tubes placed on the road, will take months to complete. When it is done, DOT will use traffic data to place reconstruction of the road on its timetable.
Van Keuren said minor improvements could be made in the immediate future, but doesn’t expect the major construction to begin until 2009.“