New Haven Independent

Posted by: anon | June 7, 2009 4:52 PM

Crashes like these would never happen if our streets were properly designed. Roundabouts and pedestrian refuge medians slow traffic and have been proven to eliminate up to 95% of traffic fatalities.

Posted by: Stolen? | June 7, 2009 5:12 PM

Anon - where is the documentation in which your 95% stat "proven"? Was the study conducted in a similar city of lawless disregard for human life?

Posted by: Edward_H | June 7, 2009 5:13 PM

ANON
Roundabouts and pedestrian refuge medians slow traffic and have been proven to eliminate up to 95% of traffic fatalities.

And 100% of traffic fatalities are eliminated when people stop at the damn stop signs like they are supposed too. All the roundabouts ,traffic calming" measures and made up stats are not going to stop reckless fools from doing foolish things.

Posted by: Streever | June 7, 2009 5:22 PM

And our city celebrates DOT widening Whalley. I think it's time to change gears.

Posted by: Hood Rebel | June 7, 2009 6:14 PM

This is so tragic. I feel bad for this family suffering the loss of a such a young child.

I am very familiar with that intersection and there definitely needs a mechanism that slow down traffic on that long somewhat winding block of Mansfield between Division and Munson Streets.

Drivers speed both ways on that street, and, as walkers could attest, the drivers seem surprised, rushed and even irritated that there are even stop signs at each end.

Posted by: anon | June 7, 2009 6:30 PM

[Union Contract] "includes a provision to add a nighttime traffic enforcement shift, from 3 to 11 p.m."

Given that the majority of the worst traffic crashes occur from 3 to 11PM, why wasn't this done earlier?

Stolen and Edward, you might read up on how streets are designed for driver and pedestrian safety before writing off what are widely-known facts. I know that two traffic engineers -- both from inner city communities with similar demographics to New Haven -- met with the city in two separate meetings over the past couple of months. Both talked about how measures like these can almost completely eliminate injuries and fatalities: one intersection went from a crash every month to zero crashes in five years. Hundreds of engineers and scientists have spent lifetimes studying this issue, so this type of expertise might not be something you can glean from anonymous comments on a city newspaper.

I know that people tend to blame the individual for problems like the 40,000 people killed and 3,000,000 people injured every year in traffic crashes in this country, but the facts show that most of these injuries have little to do with recklessness or law-abidingness. They have to do with how our public spaces are designed.

Streets in front of the Capitol in Hartford have 10 MPH limits and pedestrian safety refuges. Streets in wealthy towns like Darien and Greenwich have 15 MPH speed limits and barriers in the street that make these kinds of crashes almost impossible (unless perhaps you are a trained stunt driver). Kids play out on them.

How come kids don't play out on my street? Why are New Haven residents considered second class citizens?

Posted by: robn | June 7, 2009 6:36 PM

This is terrible.
..and why the heck does it take negotiation with the police union to get traffic enforcement done? Isn't that included in EVERY officer's duty?

Posted by: jonathan hopkins | June 7, 2009 6:49 PM

its called a bicycle. its called a bus. its called walking. its called 'the things you do when you live in a city'.
i got a bike from my brother about 8 years ago, all ive ever gotten for it are new brakes (very cheap) and new tires (very reasonably priced). total of maybe $30. how much do you spend on gas a week? how much did your car cost then add all the fix up costs. is it worth it? i bike through the central part of the city (westville village to fair haven heights) faster than i drive. so it saves time and an extraordinary amount of money. not to mention what infinitely better shape i'm in then people who drive. this car culture is making us an unhealthy country dependent on unaffordable healthcare. wake up people, GM needs to be building street cars, not pretend fuel efficient individual automobiles. until cars get much smaller (the smart car is pretty good) and get 100-150 miles per gallon of fuel, then theyre not worth making. they take up too much room which make for terrible urban conditions.

i hope the family is able to come to peace with what has happened and i hope the person at fault is caught and send to prison for life.

Posted by: Westvillian | June 7, 2009 6:54 PM

A speeding car through a stop sign is alarming and this time, tragic; however, how about all those citizens who do the "California roll" and just slow down enough to quickly look both ways and then roll on through. It seems to be the New Haven attitude toward stop signs. Every day on my walk, I see this at the intersection of Yale and West Rock and Central and West Elm Avenues in Westville.

Posted by: Edward_H | June 7, 2009 7:06 PM

ANON

Both talked about how measures like these can almost completely eliminate injuries and fatalities: one intersection went from a crash every month to zero crashes in five years

Any names? Locations? anything in the public record to back up your statement? If not I put it in the same category as your predictions of 12-15 dollar a gallon gas this year and predictions of tripled property values by painting bike path lanes.

Posted by: Arclight69 | June 7, 2009 7:45 PM

To: J. Hopkins:
Check and see in the history GM also bought up and dismantled all the major street car lines to continue the growth of auto sales and drive the market. If it weren't for GM we might still have a reasonable mass transit system in the USA. Instead we have been driven to autos instead of using mass transit that doesn't exist in enough places, particularly densely populated cities.

Posted by: Morris Cove | June 7, 2009 8:14 PM

Robn

Your comments are so typical, it's so easy to put blame on the cops, why don't you direct the blame on this horrific accident on the person who chose to drive without regard to the public?

Also if you bother to check the crime stats, you would see that the cops issued over 1200 citations in the month of March alone, so what more do you expect?...I guess that saying " you can't please everyone", applies.

Posted by: fedupwithliberals | June 8, 2009 5:37 AM

ARCLIGHT69

It was actually a grand conspiracy between GM, Sunoco and Firestone to have cities scrap light rail systems in favor of busses.

Posted by: Tim | June 8, 2009 7:19 AM

Lets not blame the cops or the way the road is designed, this was nothing more than a driver who had a disregard for the rules of the road and the saftey of other people. Hopefully justice will be swift for him!

Posted by: Streever | June 8, 2009 7:23 AM

This is such a tragedy--and it hits home the message that it is so important to use a child seat & take all the precautions you can.

--
Anon,
does it not become obvious when you throw out insane statistics then back it up with anecdotal/semi-demonstrable evidence and back down on your initial statement/and get so widely criticized that I was right?

I'm glad you stopped doing this (mostly) on the list serv. It's really irritating. I'm also glad, oddly, that you are going anonymous, because it means less people link it to anything I'm involved in.

Use facts, figures, numbers, and when people ask you where you got the figures, don't bring in emotive, unrelated arguments! It will help all of us get what we want.

Posted by: Momof2yearold | June 8, 2009 7:35 AM

I came here to find out what I suspected. No car seat. You can buy a convertible car seat at Walmart for $35. Had the seat been purchased, installed properly for free at most any police/fire station and USED, the baby would probably be alive today.

And keep in mind, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently revised it's recommendation from a minimum of 1 (year old) and 20 (lbs) to keeping babies & toddlers rear facing to the capacity of the car seat. It's the safest way for children to travel, bar none. I only recently turned my daughter forward because we reached the max weight limit.

Oh and by the way, using a car seats happen to be the law. The 11 year old in the front seat was a risk too. Kids should be 13+ before riding in the front seat because of the air bags.

No one expects to get hit by a car speeding through a stop sign. No one expects to their car roof supports to be tested by rolling down a hill. That's why you take EVERY PRECAUTION to protect these precious babies.

Yes, it's tragic. Ultimately, it's the creep who ran the stop sign's fault for this child's death. Let's hope everyone gets the message about safely traveling with a small child - even if it's just going 'down the street'. It's never safe to travel with a baby on your lap. NEVER!

And I'm not even questioning why an 18 mos. old was out and about at 11pm at night. :0

Posted by: citizen | June 8, 2009 7:57 AM

You all are worried about what the cops do and don't do think of this family and that child everyone looks to blame them, no car seat he got out his car to check the damage not the family he left behind. And who cares why this child was out at 11:00 pm If it was your child you would not be saying this. My prayers to this family.

Posted by: momof2yearold | June 8, 2009 8:23 AM

Citizen, you're right in one regard. My prayers are with the baby's family. I know I couldn't live with that kind of guilt.

My thoughts are also with your grammatical syntax or lack there of.

Hey, guess how often my 2 year old is out, away from the house after 6 PM? Try never. Funny thing, it works. And if I'm out late at the grocery store, then my husband is home with the baby. Opps, I said a bad word there. Pardon me.

At 18 mos old, my daughter went to sleep for the night at 7:30pm. Just sayin'....

Posted by: William Kurtz | June 8, 2009 9:02 AM

Yes, if one is going to use absolutes (i.e. "never happen") and seeming statistics ("95%") it is fair to ask for the evidence, but I think the 95% figure can be excused as a rhetorical flourish. Anyway, with a little bit of effort, it becomes clear that roundabouts do have an effect on injury rates in crashes although the effect on pedestrian safety is a little less clear.

From http://www.access-board.gov/research/roundabouts/bulletin.htm (bold type added):

Studies conducted in western Europe, where roundabouts are common, and in the U.S. have generally found that roundabouts result in less severe vehicular crashes than more traditional intersections. This reduction in the rate of serious vehicular crashes is the most compelling reason cited by transportation engineers for the installation of roundabouts. Roundabouts increase vehicular safety for two main reasons: 1) they reduce or eliminate the risk arising at signalized intersections when motorists misjudge gaps in oncoming traffic and turn across the path of an approaching vehicle; and 2) they eliminate the often-serious crashes that occur when vehicles are hit broadside by vehicles on the opposing street that have run a red light or stop/yield sign.

The research findings on pedestrian safety at roundabouts are less clear. There have been relatively few studies, mostly conducted in Europe, concerning pedestrians and roundabouts. Pedestrian-vehicle crashes, the most commonly used dependent measure in pedestrian safety studies, tend to occur infrequently both before and after an intersection is converted to a roundabout. As a result, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from the literature regarding pedestrian safety and roundabouts. One issue that is often not considered in pedestrian research is the degree to which pedestrian volume changes when intersections with signal or stop-sign control are converted to roundabouts. There is a need for research on this topic as well as a broad range of other pedestrian-related concerns at roundabouts. Little is known about the effect of roundabouts on older pedestrians, children, and pedestrians with disabilities. Anecdotal evidence indicates that many Australian engineers (who have extensive experience with roundabouts) consider these intersections to be unsuitable if large numbers of pedestrians are present.From http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/00068.htm

The findings of these studies show that injury crashes are reduced more dramatically
than crashes involving property damage only. This again is in part due to the
configuration of roundabouts, which eliminates severe crashes such as left turn,
head-on, and right angle collisions. Most of these studies also show that crash
reduction in rural areas is much higher than in urban areas.

The studies alluded to are in section 5.3. You will need to download the PDF to see them.
Edward_H has a good point, too, and this is not a made-up statistic or hyperbole: 100% of crashes are completely preventable if everyone follows all of the rules and proper safety procedures all of the time. There is no such thing as an 'accident' in the sense that someone's behavior is not at fault. This principle extends not only to very easily quantifiable behaviors, like stopping completely at a stop sign before proceeding, but also to more subjective ones, like altering one's driving behavior in accordance with dangerous weather or road conditions. Human nature being what it is, it doesn't seem likely that we can ever expect this so street-engineering needs to be part of the solution.

Posted by: citizen | June 8, 2009 9:04 AM

Momof
Again I understand what you are saying you do not know why that child was out at that time. And again he is gone and the mother in a hospital this man gets out of his care to check if his car is ok please give me a break hope he lives with this for the rest of his life. Just pray for that family.

Posted by: JackNH | June 8, 2009 9:55 AM

Chief Lewis: catch that hit and run driver and prosecute him to the hilt. And charge that baby's family with failure to have him in a child's seat. To the hilt. Behavior will not change unless there's an incentive-- like staying out of jail.

Posted by: l | June 8, 2009 10:06 AM

More proof that many NH drivers will NOT behave, and lack all respect for others and human life. Speed bumps speed bumps speed bumps. Tickets tickets tickets galore. traffic calming. Come on City of NH, get on board for real. How about a mayoral contender who will really make more happen? I get sicker and sicker of living here all the time.

Posted by: shelly cornelius | June 8, 2009 10:10 AM

god i hope my sister Mercedes god sister maurica is ok god keep her covered in your blood i knew maurica ever since i was 8 years old and i am 14 now i just saw her , her son and her little sister at shaw's the food store and i kissed him on the cheek and told his mom to give me her number so we i can come over sometimes with my sister Mercedes to play with your sister god knows this didn't mean to happened to her and her family i just wish that she is ok and be able to go home so she can go o her son fur navel.

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 10:19 AM

Like I said, Streever and Edward, you won't learn anything from anonymous comments on an internet board: rather than wasting your time making useless comments yourself, I encourage you to read up on the literature or meet with a few well-regarded traffic engineers. The Federal TF Highway Research Center quotes a study of 181 intersections converted to roundabouts which showed a 95% reduction in car crashes with injuries and an 89% reduction in pedestrian crashes with injuries. Equally compelling is the information that comes from specific treatments for particularly dangerous intersections, like the ones I mentioned above.

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 10:29 AM

William, the limitations of the studies that you cite (or anyone else cites) is that no two streets are engineered the same way, due to factors such as geometries, grades, space available and desired operating speed. So your idea of a roundabout or chicane that prevents all traffic injuries and fatalities may be different from someone else's. It is up to a traffic engineer to make the determination of which facility (with which operating speed) will be successful at completely eliminating crashes.

A single, correctly designed road facility can eliminate 100% of crashes. When you look at the figures of 95% injury reduction on 181 new roundabouts, for example, it is quite likely that at least half of those new roundabouts prevented 100% of injuries, while the other half had more mixed safety records (e.g., a 90% reduction). This is proven in the more detailed figures, but that's not the purpose of this message board.

Posted by: ChuckP | June 8, 2009 10:37 AM

My Prayers go out to the family, and lets not forget about praying for the first responders. As a former firefighter I saw MV accidents that have been permanently etched in my memory and whenever it involves the loss of a child it is especially difficult.

Posted by: William Kurtz | June 8, 2009 10:40 AM

L:

Your comment reminds me of the old joke about the guy trapped in his house by rising flood waters who refuses rescue by a truck, a boat and finally a helicopter, all the while saying, "no, God will save me" (please excuse the irreverence, which is not meant to be provocative). Finally, when he drowns, he arrives at the Pearly Gates where he complains that his unbending faith was not fulfilled and God tells him, "I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter! What more did you want?"

Traffic-calming, more aggressive law enforcement, and education of all street users are all important parts of a solution to this problem. Perhaps if more people demonstrated more affirmative support for actual progressive steps, even if they are small ones, we would more rapid progress.

You can start with a relatively easy and painless step of taking the city's Street Smarts pledge:

http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/TrafficParking/paceprogram.asp

and then abiding by it. Observe the speed limit--in fact, on city streets, it's a good idea to go a little slower. Keep off your cell phone when driving. Stop completely at all stop signs and stay behind the white line at red lights. Don't race to beat the yellow. Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians. Pass cyclists safely.

More importantly, expect others to do so. Tell your family and friends (I know, I know). If you have children of driving age, make a point of expecting them to adhere completely to all traffic laws and establish concrete consequences if they don't do so, and then check up on them to be sure that they do. Call the traffic safety hotline to report dangerous drivers or particular problem areas. The police department sends courtesy letters to reported drivers.

So yes, I agree with this challenge from your post: "Come on City of NH, get on board for real" but don't think that the effort can begin and end with any candidate or official, but rather needs to involve everyone who lives, works, drives, or comes to the city--to every city.

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 10:43 AM

"Charge the baby's family with failure to use a car seat?" Yeah, that is a really sympathetic thing to write when the mother is paralyzed. How are you sure that the car seat was so important, considering that a full grown person sitting in the same seat is now paralyzed and in critical condition? This is a much more systemic problem and your jump to blame the victims is appalling.

Posted by: Coolidge | June 8, 2009 12:25 PM

Anon-

Please help traffic and speeders bu making sure all the street signs in your neighborhood are clear of leaves/branches and clean, that will be a first productive step.

Enough talk a bit of action goes a long long way to saving lives and preventing the next tragedy.

Posted by: Amanda | June 8, 2009 12:59 PM

This is a heartbreaking tragedy. Sadly, though, the baby might be alive right now if he had been in a properly istalled car seat.

Posted by: robn | June 8, 2009 1:12 PM

MORRIS COVE,

I'm not blaming the cops. I'm asking a question. The article implies that only special details of police officers enforce traffic regulations...

"It is our intent to keep ramping up traffic" enforcement, Lewis said. He said the new police union contract, currently in negotiations, includes a provision to add a nighttime traffic enforcement shift, from 3 to 11 p.m."

...and I'm wondering if that's the case. Do you know the answer to my question?

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 1:28 PM

Coolidge, I agree that action can go a long way. Which traffic signs need to be clear of branches? If you find some, posting on SeeClickFix can be a good way to have the problem immediately addressed. Often when individuals post issues like branches or graffiti on there, the city fixes the problem within a few hours.

Posted by: JMS | June 8, 2009 1:35 PM

Tragic... downright awful. I cannot imagine the pain of a mother losing a child let alone a child this young. But I cannot help but agree with the comments that the lack of a child seat constitutes a crime upon this poor child no more or less in my mind then that of the hit and run driver. Sure I hope the police catch this coward because he caused the accident. But sadly this death may have been preventable. Taking an infant out for a drive without proper safety restraints is an inexcusable lapse of judgment and yes... it's a crime. When driving I call it in whenever I see a baby on some ones lap in a car. As a father I simply cannot imagine what people are thinking when they risk their child's life this way. Child seat laws are on the books for exactly this kind of thing. Remove the appalling nature of the hit and run element and traffic calming debate from this story... and all you are left with is the fact that an 18 month old child is gone and it may have been entirely preventable with the use of a few straps of fabric, buckles and what amounts to a plastic bucket. To me that's the most tragic and painful lesson of this story.

Posted by: momof2yearold | June 8, 2009 1:38 PM

....

Do I know for a fact that a car seat would have guaranteed the baby would have lived? No, of course not but I'd love the hear from a first responder as to their opinion. I've always had my car seat installations checked by Guilford PD and they told me plenty during those checks.

As for the child's mother being as severely injured as the baby, that answer is easy and obvious. She was not wearing a seat belt and the driver and front passenger were. When these simple safety precautions (car seats and seat belts) are ignored, then end result is usually tragic.

Of course, the larger picture is the accident could have been prevented if the other driver had stopped at a stop sign. But, what else could have been prevented....? I'll tell you right now, if it was me who was in this accident, I'd already be tried and convicted in the court of public opinion for not using a car seat. And that would be the front page news.

When my daughter was born, I became painfully aware that other drivers don't care. Not one of them. You can start with the drug runners speeding down a street, then go to the woman late for work and applying mascara while talking on the phone and driving, and finish up with the teenager who acts like he's driving for Penske at the Daytona 500. You must drive more defensively than ever when your have a baby in the car.

I am steaming mad that a baby is dead and might not be if more care had been taken!! I pray someone reads this story and makes a better decision the next time.

And if you think I'm the only one with this opinion, you're wrong. If you see anyone talking about this sad story, when the people start whispering, they are talking about the lack of a car seat. It's the pink elephant in the city.

Posted by: Streever | June 8, 2009 1:44 PM

Anon:
but we can't point out that you are making up numbers?
Wowzer. I think you really should relax. You seem to be under a lot of pressure lately.

Look, as usual, you pointed a patently absurd statistic (95% of accidents could be avoided by using rotaries). No one has studied this, no one has proven it, and in fact, more than 5% of all accidents do NOT occur at the intersection, so it's easy to disprove.

instead of pointing out it wasn't true, we asked you to provide some numbers. You launched into a personal attack, citing us as being part of the problem.

I'm sorry. I just don't want public policy driven by made up numbers. You gotta get this together, you really do.

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 3:09 PM

Streever, for obvious reasons, the Independent forum isn't the best place to go into lengthy debates on traffic engineering with anonymous posters.

However, I'm not entirely sure why you insist that "no one" has studied roundabouts or other progressive traffic engineering interventions, when several people have just pointed out that 1) Federal sources on the topic cited a 95% reduction in injuries following the installation of nearly 200 new roundabouts (see above for more detailed explanation), 2) more than one nationally-renowned traffic engineer has recently met with the New Haven city government on how roundabouts and other progressive road facilities they installed caused fatalities to go from several per year to zero in five years, and 3) there are literally tens of thousands of scientists and engineers, including some right in our town, who devote their lives to studying this topic. There are plenty of specific examples from New Haven, too.

But please feel free to go ahead and make more anonymous claims that "nobody" studies this stuff or "no one" has proven anything if you feel so inclined. Debate is the essence of a modern democracy.

Posted by: jay | June 8, 2009 3:54 PM

momof2yearold, I completely agree with you. It is incredibly sad, and an unfortunate reminder that everyone in the car should wear a seat belt, children should be properly seated in a car seat, children under 13 should be in the back seat (all of these are required by law). if some one can not afford a car seat, there are many agencies out there that can supply someone in need with one.

Posted by: Streever | June 8, 2009 4:27 PM

Let's leave off this? I've e-mailed you what I think, and don't understand why you keep adjusting my statements & re-posting them with a skew here. The reality is a terrible tragedy occured, and instead of obsessing on rotaries, let's stay focused on the fact that we all need to do more on every front.

I'm extremely glad to see the seriousness with which the NHPD is taking this. I only hope that our City can work together to keep these types of deaths from occuring in the future by increasing safety & lowering speed limits & building smarter streets.

Posted by: Michael | June 8, 2009 4:43 PM

Streever makes anonymous claims? By attaching his name to his comments? Anon, you've got it backward. Now, I'm interested in traffic calming ideas and you seem to have some info - can you share some links to sites where I can read more?

Posted by: Professor | June 8, 2009 4:48 PM

"I'll tell you right now, if it was me who was in this accident, I'd already be tried and convicted in the court of public opinion for not using a car seat. And that would be the front page news."
- Why? Are you a celebrity or just an upper middle-class woman from the Shoreline who would never be expected to have an unbelted kid in her car? Maybe if you were a teenage inner-city mom you wouldn't have the luxury of having all those ducks in order.

Posted by: momof2yearold | June 8, 2009 5:05 PM

Professor, I know for a FACT that this mom could have had a car seat handed to her for free. The staff at Wilbur Cross could easily put her in touch with any number of agencies that would have provided her one. Easy as pie. Sadly, it wasn't that important to her.

Do not underestimate the amount of help offered to a teenage mom within the New Haven Public School System. It's another story whether they avail themselves to the help and guidance. Some are more head strong than others.

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 5:08 PM

Michael, this is a blog with no trackback signatures or IPs; it is anonymous with a few exceptions. In addition to several Jays, Mikes, and City Hall Insiders and Watchers (maybe the same person), there are even several posters who use the name Anon - at least the latter recognize the nature of the situation. Like many other posters here, I don't even read the "tagline," except to respond to specific comments. Anonymous moderated boards, like the New York Times, are particularly productive for those who wish to focus on discussing ideas and public policies, rather than on personal attacks or politics.

References were made to examples of "public policy that is driven by numbers." Here are a few places you might start:

-- "Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that roundabouts provide a 90% reduction in fatal crashes" (Wisconsin DOT, Department of Safety & Consumer Protection - citing an article in the American Journal of Public Health).

-- "Roundabouts... almost completely eliminate incapacitating injury and fatal crashes." (City of Dublin, Engineering Department)

-- "By virtue of their circular design, properly designed roundabouts eliminate "T-bone crashes," or 90-degree side-angle crashes. Roundabouts have reduced injury/fatal crashes by more than 90 percent." (John R. Baxter, Director, Office of Safety Design, United States Department of Transportation).

This discussion originally had very little to do with roundabouts though -- as I explained above, they are just one possible course in the Athenian Diner-sized menu of options that engineers are using to redesign roads in ways that completely (or almost completely) eliminate serious traffic crashes.

This takes a while to download, but is another good place to start: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/streetdesignmanual.shtml

Posted by: momof2yearold | June 8, 2009 5:11 PM

And if the 17 year old mom didn't know better, then the 44 year old grandma should have.

Posted by: Justacitizen | June 8, 2009 5:30 PM

So,"Professor", the law is now a "luxury" if you're a "teenage inner-city mom"? You paint with too broad of a brush for my taste. What about all of the "teenage inner-city moms" who have car seats and use them? No one is denying that this is a tragedy, however I think you, "Professor", would be well served to understand that obeying the law is the right thing to do , and that the same expectations for putting your child in a car seat extend not only to " upper middle class women from the Shoreline" but to "teenage inner-city moms".

Posted by: jack | June 8, 2009 5:35 PM

This really was the perfect storm.Lives were lost and ruined because everyone involved chose to ignore the law. I will bet a months pay no one in the SUV was wearing a seat belt either.When will we learn?

Posted by: FACT CHECK | June 8, 2009 6:40 PM

NHPD, NHI,New Haven Register and Channel 8 a long way towards helping the public find the culprit and vehicle would be to post a picture of what this type of Mercedes looks like, i don't understand why that has yet to be done as it was in the last fatal hit-and-run on Whalley?????

Posted by: me | June 8, 2009 7:12 PM

The comment of adding a 3-11 traffic detail is true. In fact, Chief Lewis was asking for that as soon as he arrived here. There is finally a REAL police chief here, so support him. Remember, he won't be here long so let him get the PD in shape. Don't bash the cops, they are trying very hard.

Posted by: car seat? | June 8, 2009 8:06 PM

where was the car seat? or seatbelts for the adults?

Posted by: anon | June 8, 2009 8:38 PM

I agree, Fact Check. A picture of similar vehicles should have been posted immediately.

Posted by: kris | June 8, 2009 9:08 PM

Mom of2 I'm with you! I agree 100% As for you professor,you said "Maybe if you were a teenage inner-city mom you wouldn't have the luxury of having all those ducks in order" Can you tell me what that means? Is it now a luxury to own a car seat?Please gimmie a break.Also,I hope they catch the guy(surprised they gave his race in the description)but maybe he was afraid to stop since you know you might get a beating when causing an accident in new haven.Yes its a tragedy but not a surprising one.

Posted by: Bruce | June 8, 2009 10:16 PM

My heart goes out to the family and all affected by this tragedy. Here are some pics of Mercedes Benz CLK-320 coupe.

http://vlane.com/img/chrome/4164.jpg

http://file.kbb.com/kbb/vehicleimage/houseseo/337x250/1998/1998-mercedes-benz-clk-class-frontside_xcmbclk981.jpg

http://estores.adtrader.co.uk/london_road_car_sales/siteimag/products/CRIM0238.JPG

Posted by: Cat2000 | June 8, 2009 10:19 PM

There are truly some cold hearted people sitting behind their little computer screens. A mother has lost her baby and potentially use of her body parts, and people feel the need to jump on their computers and point the finger at her and her mom for this tremendous loss.

I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to lose a child. Could a carseat have saved little Montez' life? Maybe. There are no definitive answers.

I hope all of you who never jay-walk; who always wear your seatbelts; and those who obey the speed limits faithfully never meet the fate of this poor baby and his mom.

Posted by: chicwa | June 8, 2009 11:24 PM

An innocent child is dead. Killed by ignorance on both sides and in both vehicles. It couldn't possibly have been more tragic or more preventable.

Yet another human sacrifice made to road gods. How many more must be sacrficed before the road gods will grant safe passage to the villagers. It's incredible in this modern society, that lives must be sacrificed before action is taken.

It's also incredible in this modern society that WE ALL put ourselves and our haste ahead of the saftey of ourselves and others at some time.

Traffic enforcment in New Haven, (if you could call it that), is pathetic and non-existent, really. It is such an important part, but is just that, a part. Another equally important part is driver integrity. Doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.

Well, i've managed to say what most of the outraged folks have said with this exception. An accident is just that, an accident. No one plans for it to happen and lord knows we all make mistakes. But to not stop and offer assistance to obviously injured people is a cold, callous and cowardly act like no other. The driver who left the scene is filth, nothing more.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | June 9, 2009 12:16 AM

I was reading that some states are using speed bumps and photo enforcement at the stop signs to make you slow down and stop,May be we can try this here.

Posted by: JMS | June 9, 2009 9:24 AM

CAT2000,

Nothing cold hearted about it. This was a tragic yet possibly preventable death. Fact: My car does not roll one single inch until I am certain my child is safely strapped in. Does this mean he is 100% safe from injury in a catastrophic accident? Of course not. Does this mean that the beautiful baby who lost his life in this accident would be alive today if he was strapped into a baby seat? No one can say for certain but this is no excuse for ignoring the law and his well being. As responsible parents we (should) do whatever we can to reduce the odds and protect our children with whatever means we have at our disposal. It's our job. This is the very definition of being a parent. Children cannot be expected to take these measures and protect themselves... least not an 18 month old baby. Yes this death is tragic and yes we should all mourn with the family but the fact remains that there is simply no excuse for exposing an infant to harm by putting him in a car with no protection.

Forget about traffic problems in New Haven for a moment... forget about the hit and run. If this vehicle simply got a flat tire and veered off the road into a high curb the baby could have been seriously injured. Any random fender bender could result in serious injury to an infant who is riding unprotected in a moving vehicle.

So again yes there is great sadness in this story at the loss of a child but there is also a great (if not painful and obvious) lesson and even an ounce of shame. Reading that the child was riding unprotected made me just as angry as reading about the hit and run driver. No more no less.

Posted by: Kim Hynes | June 9, 2009 9:48 AM

While momof2 might have all the information in the world about how underprivileged teen moms can get free car seats and other help, the teen moms might not be as aware of that information.

I would suggest that if momof2 is as concerned about car seats and all children's lives, she might volunteer in such organizations to help spread the word about available programs, rather than judge the mom in this situation.

As far as I know, in this economic crisis, all social service agencies and non-profits are stretched to the breaking point, as are many families. We should have compassion for those hurt in this tragedy, not offer easy judgments from the safety of our middle class homes.

Posted by: ohhh | June 9, 2009 11:32 AM

a 15 year-old high school teenager giving birth - obviously not married - no father in the picture - baby left with relatives - no car seat although everyone knows they are required - tragic tragic tragic all around.

Posted by: MORRIS COVE MF | June 9, 2009 11:34 AM

The more we install roundabouts and speed bumps, the more we take responsibility away from the individual. We cannot be spending monies on preventative measures, when they already exist, i.e. stop signs, traffic signals. When drivers (and bicyclists, and pedestrians) choose to ignore them, then the potential for danger is imminent.

As for feeling sorry for the family, we all do. It's a horrendous tragedy. But the law applies to everyone, not just the people we don't like (the driver who ran the stop sign). So, the grandmother should be cited for the lack of seatbelt use and absence of carseat, regardless. The law applies to all of us, all of the time.

Posted by: citizen | June 9, 2009 12:03 PM

Momof2 and Ohhh You all must be friends shame on both of you. What is the problem so she was 15 and yes there is a father in the picture. Being mean with your comments are not good PRAY FOR THIS FAMILY

Posted by: anon | June 9, 2009 12:42 PM

MORRIS COVE MF, by your logic, the more we spend billions of dollars on radars, traffic control towers, specialized 21st-century bag scanners, FDA regulations, and homeland security, the more we take responsibility away from the individual pilots, food manufacturers, corporate stockholders, and terrorists. We cannot be spending monies on preventative measures, when they already exist, i.e. old radars, old traffic control towers, outdated (1990s-era) bag scanners, border regulations, traditional food safety inspections, border policing, immigration agents. When our society chooses to ignore these risks, then the potential for danger is imminent.

The only difference is that unlike tainted spinach or air crashes, unsafe, improperly-designed streets and vehicles kill 40,000 and injure nearly 3 million Americans per year.

Posted by: Edward_H | June 9, 2009 1:41 PM

Anon
Like I said, Streever and Edward, you won't learn anything from anonymous comments on an internet board:

I don't get it. Are you saying I can't learn anything from people who make anonymous comments? That is blatantly false as I have learned many things from posters like JMS, Streever , Cedarhillresident, ROBN, Blue Dog Democrat, NFjannette and many others. Or are you saying we can't learn anything from YOUR anonymous comments. If the latter I tend to agree.

( Yes I know some of the people I mentioned have used their real names but if I can't recognize you while in line at Stop and Shop then you are still anonoymous to me :) )

rather than wasting your time making useless comments yourself,

My "useless" comment was based on your "useless" comment. Follow your own advice.

Just off the top of my head you have in the past claimed:

1) $12-15 per gallon gas for the summer of 2009
2) a tripling of property values by painting bike path lanes
3) New Haven employers are paying employees to bike to work

Statements like the three I mentioned are the reason I find pretty much anything you post suspect.

Is it just a coincidence that you did not provide any specific information until after William Kurtz posted ?

William Kurtz

Thanks for the info.

Posted by: anon | June 9, 2009 3:56 PM

Edward H, the point of a comments blog like this is to enable community comments and discussion, not to provide "information" with every post. If the latter were required, then I doubt that any of your past few dozen posts would have been approved.

My first statement was that roundabouts, pedestrian refuge medians, and other progressive road designs can slow traffic and have been "proven to eliminate up to 95% of traffic fatalities" (if not more). No specific information there, but after my comments sparked an productive debate on the topic between a few commenters aside from yourself, I was happy to cite a few people who actually make public policy.

A word of advice: these individuals did not learn what they know by reading anonymous comment boards. If you disagree, feel free to make an argument or contact the U.S. Department of Transportation in protest -- until then, very few people are going to heed anonymous attacks and completely irrelevant, out-of-context quotes.

Posted by: norton street | June 9, 2009 4:28 PM

It would be nice if some kind of sensor could be placed in street lamps, or on the side of the road, or installed under roads that sent signals to cars that wouldnt allow them to travel over the posted speed limit of the specific street.
No new car should be able to go over 75 mph. Cars could then be much smaller and would take up much less space in parking garages and parking lots which would leave more room for inhabitable spaces instead of asphalt. GM could start working on these technologies as opposed to what they normally do: sell us pieces of poop disguised as cars. Car advertising is such a joke. SUV are hailed as family safe because of their size, but if they were really safe, they would have V8 engines that allow the car to travel at upwards of 150 mph. Parents wouldnt feel like they had to buy SUV's for safety if cars were much much slower.

Posted by: WTF | June 9, 2009 8:41 PM

SEATBELTS AND CAR SEATS SAVE LIVES,AS BAD AS THE DIRT BAG IS WHO HIT AND RAN LIKE A COWARD THE 18 MONTH OLD SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN A CAR SEAT

Posted by: kris | June 9, 2009 10:58 PM

Kim Hynes... people don't know about free car seats? They know about free everything else don't they!Also, you state that because of the economy people and social services are stretched to the breaking point.Well here is a news alert for you...if you can't afford a car seat than you cant afford the baby either.Ofcourse this was tragic and ofcourse I feel bad for the innocent baby but he is the only innocent one in this whole thing.They broke the law and paid the ultimate price but again they broke the law.It's like a felon carrying a gun and shoots someone they love by mistake.It would be sad but it would still be breaking the law.If a 100 year old man drove drunk with wife of 80 years in the car and crashed and she died it would be tragic but still breaking the law.Do you get it? Momof2 and myself are not heartless people,just sensible law abidding citizens.

Posted by: JMS | June 10, 2009 2:14 AM

Norton Street,

Agreed. Maybe with the implosion of the US auto industry we will see fewer Hemi's, Hummer's, etc. and a new focus on safe practical cars. I'm not holding my breath but who knows.

JMS

Posted by: jimmy5 | June 10, 2009 8:17 AM

HERE'S ANOTHER NOT GUILTY IN THE MAKING FOR THE PERSON WHO RAN.....

Posted by: Kim Hynes | June 10, 2009 9:43 AM

Kris,

It seems to me that there are too many people who are using this tragedy to be smugly self congratulatory on being a middle class law abider.

While of course it is very easy to sit back and jeer at the family who didn't put the baby in a car seat, it is much harder to put oneself in their shoes. Of course the baby should have been in a car seat. Of course it is better for a teen to wait a few years before having a child.

The problem is that too many people find it very easy to sit back and harp on people who are in difficult circumstances, instead of working to help those less fortunate than ourselves. If everyone who felt free to criticize instead stepped up to help educate teens about birth control and choices, to helps spread the word about the efficacy of car seats, or simply to make an effort to understand how difficult it is to live in someone else's shoes - then I would wager that everyone's lives would be greatly improved.

Posted by: citizen | June 10, 2009 11:07 AM

KIM very well said and thank you for feeling the same as I do so many comments on this site that the writers should be praying for this family in stead of putting them down.

Posted by: Unknown | June 10, 2009 3:16 PM

Look at this bad community. A hit and run is always happening. But what they need to know is that these streets are dangerous. Why would the car keep going. Why didnt the mother have a car seat. Its not right for everyone to jump tp conclusions.
1.the baby should of been in a car seat.
2.Where are the camera's on theses streets
3.Where are all these damn cops at.

Posted by: Lifer | June 10, 2009 11:30 PM

I consider myself a pretty jaded New Havenite but I actually thought someone would turn in that dredlocked Mercedes driver. Clearly I was wrong. Incredible that even with a baby getting killed, it's all about "no snitchin'."

Posted by: momof2yearold | June 11, 2009 5:19 PM

This is my first trip back to this story since Monday.

I know for a FACT that the Cross students with children in the daycare are well aware of the child seat laws. As stated by another poster, to paint all teen mothers as uninformed or careless is not only a disservice, it's insulting. There are a lot of great teen moms out there. Don't diminish them to make this situation more acceptable.

I never said there wasn't a father. I knew there was an involved father and he's a decent young man. Truth be told, I feel the worst for him.

And if you read the Register, the grandmother admitted they took the car that didn't have the seat in it. They do own a seat, they chose not to use it. And as if I was quoted, the grandmother said they were going just 'down the street'. And yes, it was a choice. Maybe they had to move a car to get at the one with the car seat. Maybe the car seat car was parked on the street and the family didn't want to 'lose' the space. I'm speculating but there was a reason they chose convenience over safety.

My husband and I decided not to put an infant seat base in his car. So my car was the only car equipped to travel with the baby...therefore, it was the only car my daughter traveled in. End of story.

My car ignition is not started until my daughter is completely strapped in. Obviously, JMS, Kris and others do the same. We're not smarter. I'll ever go so far as to say we're not more informed. It's very common knowledge that most accidents happen within 5 miles of your house.

I don't take anything for granted where it involves my daughter. Life is hard and I learned at a young age that it can be unforgiving. Sometimes you don't get an opportunity to do things over and regret can last a lifetime. I refuse to have regret when it comes to my daughter.

My ultimate aim is to make people aware rear facing seats to 1 & 20 is the MINIMUM requirement, not a maximum. People looked at me like I was crazy that my daughter was still rear facing until a few months ago. When purchasing a convertible seat, look for longer rear facing weight thresholds. Crossed legs are better than broken necks. That's the end of my PSA. The rest is common sense.

Posted by: carefuldriver | June 14, 2009 7:02 PM

An intersection is dangerous because people who should know better act carelessly. All the design effort in the world won't stop people from being plain stupid. Driving through that intersection a few minutes ago, I almost hit two ADULT bicyclists who blew through the stop sign heading north. Fortunately, I had slowed down to turn left. If I had been going straight (and not speeding, mind you) they'd be crunched.

Posted by: anon | June 15, 2009 10:39 AM

Carefuldriver, thanks for being careful. However, look at the figures. While what you say is theoretically true, there are many documented cases where following the redesign of an incredible dangerous road, there have been no more crashes for years. At the very least, we should be pushing at all levels for policies that will make our community safer - if not 100%, then at least 90%. Not perfect, but isn't it worth a life?

Posted by: jim blunt | June 15, 2009 7:11 PM

This is a horrible situation and I feel horrible for the family. Hopefully this man will be caught and be held accountable for his crime.

Also, I hope and pray that this sends a message loud and clear to the many, many guardians who drive around New Haven with young children not being secured in a child seat. We'll never know if little Montez would be alive right now if he had been in a seat, but statistics say he would have had a much better chance.

My intention is not to bring guilt onto the mother. She has more on her shoulders right now than any of us can comprehend. I simply want to encourage all of us to think about our responsibility to care for and protect our children.

There is a reason that EVERY state in the US mandates by LAW that children should be in car seats. Often people in New Haven seem to view traffic LAWS as suggestions... take it or leave it. A young girl chooses not to secure her child in a car seat. A young man chooses to run a stop sign. How many of us make one of those choices on a regular basis? Today we learned what sadly happens when those two choices collide.