The Herald-Mail

WASHINGTON COUNTY — A crash Thursday night at the intersection of Eastern Boulevard and Chartridge Drive that left a 70-year-old woman seriously injured was at least the sixth crash in that area in six months, leading one Washington County commissioner to decide it’s time for additional safety improvements at the site.

Police said the crash occurred at 7:37 p.m. as the woman was attempting to turn left onto Eastern Boulevard from the Hagerstown YMCA parking lot, a spot where area residents have been pressing for months to have a traffic light installed.

Pamela Carpenter, 70, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., was leaving the YMCA parking lot in a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder when she misjudged the distance of an SUV that was driving around the curve on Eastern Boulevard headed toward Northern Avenue, Hagerstown Police Officer Michael Alderton said.

The other vehicle, a 1997 Kia driven by Jamie Baugher, 31, of Taneytown, Md., struck the Pathfinder in the front driver’s-side fender, Alderton said.

Carpenter had to be cut from her vehicle, and both drivers were taken to Washington County Hospital, Alderton said.

Carpenter was listed in serious condition Friday evening, a nursing supervisor said. Baugher was seen in the emergency room but not admitted, the supervisor said.

Chimneystone Court resident Jeffrey Spickler has led the push for improvements to the intersection, taking photos of crashes there and e-mailing them out to city, county and State Highway Administration officials. His e-mails have documented six crashes near the intersection from May 6 to Nov. 5, ranging from minor accidents to a June 12 crash about 800 feet from the intersection that killed 28-year-old Philip Martin Post II.

After receiving an e-mail from Spickler with photos of Thursday night’s crash, Commissioner Kristin B. Aleshire sent a reply calling for the City of Hagerstown and the county to “jointly discuss possible more permanent solutions,” such as a traffic light, to improve driver safety at the intersection.

Eastern Boulevard is a county road, but the YMCA is part of the city, Aleshire said.

Washington County traffic engineers studied the intersection in the spring and determined it had visibility problems, heavy traffic volume and speeds too high for the sight distance available to turning cars, county public works director Joseph Kroboth has said. The intersection has no stop signs for Eastern Boulevard traffic, and there is a sharp bend in Eastern Boulevard a few hundred feet to one side of the intersection.

After the June 12 fatal crash, the county’s highway department made several changes to the intersection, including reducing the speed limit from 40 mph to 30 mph, installing additional warning signs and prohibiting left turns from Chartridge Drive from 4 to 6 p.m.

County engineers determined conditions at the intersection didn’t justify installing a traffic light, Kroboth said previously. State and county laws require an intersection to meet one of eight scenarios in a Federal Highway Administration manual before a light can be installed, he said.

If further measures are needed, the county could consider rumble strips, speed cameras or a full-time radar speed display, Kroboth said in August.

In a phone interview Friday, Aleshire said looking at some of those alternative solutions would be a “logical progression,” given the frequency of crashes at the intersection.

“Over the course of the last year, our staff has evaluated the intersection, they have put in place additional safety measures, and it appears — as we sort of get these reports and e-mails on a monthly basis it seems — that those measures are not 100 percent effective,” Aleshire said.

Aleshire stressed that most of the accidents near the intersection have appeared to stem from driver error, but he said officials should discuss whether additional improvements could influence drivers to slow down and pay more attention.

He said he didn’t know if a stop light was the best solution, but he thought something more drastic than the previous changes should be considered.

“I don’t know how many more ‘minor improvements’ you can make to that intersection until you get to that step and you’ve addressed the concern that still obviously exists there,” Aleshire said.

Hagerstown City Councilwoman Ashley Haywood said in an e-mail Friday she would like to see the matter on the agenda for an upcoming joint meeting between the city council and county commissioners.

Commissioner James F. Kercheval said he was not opposed to anything staff might bring up, but he had reservations about a stop light for the intersection because the curve of the road could lead to rear-end collisions. He stressed he would consider the intersection objectively and not base his response on the number of e-mails he receives.

Commissioner William J. Wivell said he thought the county’s public works department was on top of the situation.

“I certainly have no problem with doing whatever it takes to make it safer for residents,” he said.

Reader Comments:

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From: thefig Fri 06 Nov 2009 10:52:39 AM EST	"Kifer said no more information about the wreck would be released until later this evening, because the officers who investigated the accident would not be on duty until then." JUST GETTING THE STORY TOGETHER!!! 24/7?
From: jjeffers Fri 06 Nov 2009 11:03:51 AM EST	What will it take before the city/county places a light near this area to slow down traffic. A light would allow a safer intersection for the customers of the YMCA and the residence from accross that street.
From: mdsha_d6 Fri 06 Nov 2009 11:22:58 AM EST	Perhaps the police should ticket the people pulling into the travel lanes without yielding to oncoming traffic for a change. Until they start enforcing that law accidents will continue.
From: diesel99 Fri 06 Nov 2009 11:26:47 AM EST	That intersection is in the county. Why did the city police investigate it?
From: dlsdls Fri 06 Nov 2009 12:57:42 PM EST	The next time the city\county builds a bypass road, can they keep it that way? This road was nothing but access to new business and residential development, not a down town bypass as they said it would be.
From: amphibo Fri 06 Nov 2009 01:11:04 PM EST	I live nearby and given the volume of traffic in the Pangborn area at the time of the accident I guessed they'd shut down Eastern Blvd. People driving thru heavy residential areas at nite need to slow down. They also need to understand that traffic entering a traffic circle must yield to traffic in the circle.
From: Stingray Fri 06 Nov 2009 02:10:55 PM EST	diesel99 - Try reading the second paragraph.
From: I-question-why Fri 06 Nov 2009 02:13:17 PM EST	So, reducing the speed limint along that part of eastern and eliminating left turns for the development that was there long before the YMCA really helped. How much did that study cost us?
From: HagerKen Fri 06 Nov 2009 02:52:26 PM EST	So if a Washington County deputy happens to be close to an incident that is just across the line in Frederick County, or just across the state line in WV, will they handle it? I bet if someone got a ticket for this accident, a good lawyer could win it in court on jurisdictional issues.
From: jjeffers Fri 06 Nov 2009 04:20:15 PM EST	Dear HagerKen, Why does it matter who was closest to the accident and who wrote the ticket. How about being glad that the city police recognized their obligation to protect and serve regardless of the fact that is was the responsibility of the county police. How would you have liked to have been in the car and in need of assistance, only to have an officer say that this wasn't their jurisdiction. Seems to me that you are suffering from tunnel vision. The ticket doesn't matter and any driver that would pay to get out of the citation is an idiot. Besides, the out of pocket expense for the attorney will surely be more than the ticket and we havn't even talked about the insurance payment to settle the claim by the person who was not at fault.
From: level-headed Fri 06 Nov 2009 04:33:28 PM EST	Before you have a temper tantrum about the use of the bypass and the money and methods to improve the safety, maybe you should let the facts be released. For all any of you know, one driver could have been drunk, had a medical emergency, blew a tire or other vehicle malfunction, avoided a deer, etc, etc. STOP jumping to conclusions about the city/county being at fault, needing a light, that by the way they already said could result in more rear-end accidents and is a LAST resort, or anything else that you may think is the reason for the accident. Wait for the facts! They didn't even say that the accident was at the corner, looks more like the curve than the corner to me, but it is a dark photo. HagerKen, have a heart, the police helped because they were there, get over it. And for those who live there, if you don't like the left turn at that corner, go use the light at Potomac, there is more than one way in. Maybe if the intersection is the problem they should just close it off. That would cost less.
From: I-question-why Fri 06 Nov 2009 05:27:53 PM EST	From Your4state.com: It happened just after 7:30 p.m. near the entrance for the Hagerstown YMCA and closed down Eastern Blvd. for almost an hour. The drivers of both vehicles were taken to the Washington County Hospital for treatment. Authorities say one of them failed to yield the right of way and drove into the path of an oncoming SUV. The No left turn "out" of the development can not be done by going to the light at Potomac (another bad area made worse by recent changes). Residents of the development should not suffer becausing of poor planning by our officials. The YMCA should have been made to have another entrance off of Eastern.
From: level-headed Fri 06 Nov 2009 05:56:03 PM EST	"Authorities say one of them failed to yield the right of way", how would a light make someone follow the rules? Only one way "out", I think not. You may be right that they should have placed the YMCA elsewhere, and that the neighborhood has suffered, but it is too late to change it. Go turn elsewhere if that corner is too busy. Go turn elsewhere rather continuing to put yourself at risk. Take a few extra minutes for safety. Of course, that still does not make people follow the rules, people will get impatient and try to make it out when they can't rather than going around. But you don't have to be there with them.
From: pfelix73 Fri 06 Nov 2009 07:06:22 PM EST	Simply-a lot of people in the county and state don't know how to drive a vehicle properly anyway. Sometimes I wonder how folks are taught around here. The slowdown to 30 in the stretch is just going to cause more accidents.
From: level-headed Fri 06 Nov 2009 10:41:58 PM EST	I don't want to sound cold-hearted, and I do feel bad for her and hope she recovers, but how is speed an issue when she pulled out in front of him. Getting people to slow down just in case someone pulls out, maybe we should reduce all speed to a point where no one would get hurt if we bumped each other, like bumper cars and the carnival. The articel said she misjudged the distance, that is an understatement concidering that she didn't even get all the way into the road. The other car "struck the Pathfinder in the front driver’s-side fender", that means the car in the closest lane to the YMCA hit her as she pulled into the road, probably about 4-6 feet. Based on that, it would not have mattered if he had been doing 20, he would have hit her anyway. On the other hand, I could see this being my own grandma (seriously), and I have thought for years that she should not be driving. I do not know this lady, but maybe that could be a factor here as well.
From: Eric-Cartman Fri 06 Nov 2009 11:41:50 PM EST	Jeffers, I actually had that happen from a county deputy back in the summer of 01. He was driving right by, bu blatently said he couldnt help cause it was out of jurisdiction, so cool it. I saw, close down the ymca altogether. These accidents NEVER happened before that place was built. Or, they could always reroute the Ymca's entrace to an access road to the complex behind it. Will the city & county ever do anything logical though? Of course not.
From: heyceeo Sat 07 Nov 2009 06:44:30 AM EST	"Aleshire stressed that most of the accidents near the intersection have appeared to stem from driver error" A+ correct! Imagine if it were a motorcycle she pulled out into!! " bu blatently said he couldnt help cause it was out of jurisdiction, so cool it." Crapola!! Every car has a big number on it. Guess you didnt take notice eh?? Too bad. You could back up your accusation with facts. "I saw, close down the ymca altogether"......oh I get it you and Captain Morgan are typing together....bwahaha.
From: AConcernedMom Sat 07 Nov 2009 08:27:38 AM EST	"Commissioner James F. Kercheval said he was not opposed to anything staff might bring up, but he had reservations about a stop light for the intersection because the curve of the road could lead to rear-end collisions". Where my mom lives (out of state) there is a light by her on a curve- and you would rear end by the time you turned the curve. But, before the light, they put a yellow warning light- if you are coming up on the light, and the warning light is flashing, you slow down because the light ahead is red. Haven't had a rear end crash since the warning light went up 25 years ago.
From: SafeTfirst Sat 07 Nov 2009 08:49:38 AM EST	Here's my two cents... anyone who has ever built a home in Washintgon County knows how difficult it can be to gain approval for a residential driveway on a small hill or near a curve in the road, so why on earth was a driveway ever approved in that location to begin with. From Chartridge Dr to Eastern Blvd should be right turn only coming out of there and no one can see around the bend to turn left. The YMCA driveway could have been placed much further away from that curve as it is obvious from the parking lot that they owned enough property to do so. Putting up a traffic light may or may not truly help. If drivers cannot see the traffic signal from the other side of that curve, having the traffic signal may add a false sense of safety for those with "green" and the ones who have red will not see it in time to stop. This was poor planning in the first place and many innocent people have paid the price for it. Continued...
From: SafeTfirst Sat 07 Nov 2009 08:52:57 AM EST	continued.. move the YMCA driveway so it goes out the other direction to the traffic light already in place at Stonehouse Square on the Lietersburg Pike. Make exiting Chartrdige Dr a Right Turn only possibility. Simply putting a traffic light at an intersection which already has visibility issues makes no sense, especially given the cost involved of a signal.
From: vera89 Sat 07 Nov 2009 11:11:12 AM EST	Instead of putting in another stop light that will cause more traffic,why not create a new entrance arcoss from the funeral home with a small road leading to the parking lot of the Y.That could be the new entrance and exit from the Y,and make the old entrance/exit just a ENTRANCE.just a thought
From: usaguy35 Sat 07 Nov 2009 11:38:49 AM EST	Was anyone cited in this accident? What was the speed of the oncoming vehicle? Those are just two questions that I have. If the Police would start enforcing the speed limit and start issuing hefty fines, then that in itself would help but not solve the problem. I go through there about once a week. I have yet to see the Police conducting radar? Start hammering speeders there and in the neighborhoods throughout the county. Speeding is out of control!!
From: coma Sat 07 Nov 2009 11:50:16 AM EST	pfelix73, I agree. Hagerstown not only ranks 2nd in the country for the ugliest men, but they also have some of the worst drivers I've ever seen on the road. Scary stuff.
From: breezie Sat 07 Nov 2009 01:21:35 PM EST	This was nobody fault expect for the driver. Be responible for your own actions. Quit saying the Road made me do it. Most accidents are from drivers error. I know quite a few people that had their license for over 40 years. None have had any accidents as of yet.
From: simodrien Sat 07 Nov 2009 07:28:43 PM EST	Put a 4 way stop sign at the intersection between Security and Chartridge (at the new development and the othodontists office) and then another 4 way stop sign at Chartridge and the YMCA intersection...post a couple of signs in between announcing new stop signs...this will slow down the traffic from Security to Chartridge and the city/county won't have to worry about the cost for a new traffic light. The measures that were taken after the young man died in MY YARD on 6/12/09 are not working!
From: ndano Sun 08 Nov 2009 12:23:46 PM EST	With local judges on the road the intersection becomes even more dangerous!
From: whoreallycares Sun 08 Nov 2009 01:54:36 PM EST	How about making it a right turn only from Chartridge and the YMCA? The cost for this would be FREE and may save lives. Also, if these were private driveways they would have never been allowed.
From: barackobama Sun 08 Nov 2009 09:05:44 PM EST	I hope all involved in the mishaps recover fully and quickly. Dlsdls, your comment about bypasses remaining a bypass was spot-on. Eastern Boulevard was built as a bypass around the eastern part of town, however development of the area has created congestion to the point we need another bypass. Anyone else see a pattern here? The fact is new bypasses never solve traffic problems. They only temporarily relocate them.

http://herald-mail.com/

11/06/2009

Six crashes in six months at intersection

Aleshire: It’s time for the city and county to ‘jointly discuss possible more permanent solutions’

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