Hamlin, N.Y.—For Hamlin resident John Neu, the sound of colliding metal has become all too common outside his home.
Neu lives at the corner of Rt. 260 and Brick Schoolhouse Road in Hamlin and he says there are accidents in front of his house frequently.
“There have been enough accidents here and people have been lucky enough to walk away from them,” Neu says.
But this week, that wasn’t the case. Monday afternoon, 25-year-old Luis Ayalon was killed after he was ejected from the car was in and then was pinned under a truck.
The accident is still under investigation.
Neu says he has had enough. The cars landed in his yard during the accident.
“I never ever want to see anything like that again,” says Neu. “It's a terrible thing. There are young kids here. They don't need to see things like this. That's traumatic. It's just way too much stuff for us to live with.”
Neu and his neighbors say drivers often speed down the hill on Rt. 260 heading towards Brick Schoolhouse Road. There is no stop sign for Rt. 260 at the intersection. Many residents also say that drivers miss the stop sign on Brick Schoolhouse Road.
“If there was a 4-way stop there it would make everyone stop and take an extra look and hopefully these things won't happen,” says Hamlin resident John Suhr.
Suhr says he wrote a letter to the State Department of Transportation three years ago trying to get them to take a look at the intersection.
“Four months later I basically got a letter saying there weren't enough accidents or problems in that corner and nothing was going to be done,” says Suhr.
Neighbors say they want to see stop signs up on Rt. 260, flashing lights on the existing stop signs or for the speed limits on Rt. 260 to be reduced.
On Tuesday, Hamlin Town Supervisor Thomas Breslawski said he is planning to add a resolution on next Tuesday’s board meeting agenda. If passed, the resolution would formally ask the State DOT to study the intersection to see if extra safety measures are needed.
Residents like Suhr wish something was done earlier but for now, they are hoping for the best outcome.
“It almost seems like they wait until there is a fatality to see if something can be done," Suhr said. "That's a terrible thing.”
