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A search for fireflies turned fatal Saturday night as a speeding motorcycle and a car full of children collided at a Cambria Heights intersection. The accident took the lives of Janae Forde, 2, of St. Albans as well as the biker, Curtis Battle, 33 of Jamaica, and left other children in critical or guarded condition at local hospitals.
The accident at 121st Avenue and Springfield Boulevard has brought renewed calls from politicians and community members for improved safety measurements at the corner, whose proximity to the intersection of Francis Lewis and Springfield Boulevards has long been cause for concern.
Janaes mother Viviann Rodriguez, 23, was leading an expedition to a local park with two nieces, Kaia and Chenee Williams, 6 and 12, and Rodriguezs foster brother, Joshua Gonzalez, 14, at the time of the accident. Around 10 p.m. Saturday night, while the children were asleep in their seatbelts in the back of the car, Rodriguez says she stopped at the intersections stop sign on 121st Avenue. When she proceeded Battles Suzuki motorcycle appeared to come out of nowhere and the force of the crash into Rodriguezs Hyundai sent the car on a collision course with two parked cars. Rodriguez said she never saw him coming. Police said Battle was speeding at the time and that Janae was in her child-safety seat.
Still with shards of glass strewn across the street,Rodriguez returned to the intersection two days later to call for improved safety conditions at the corner, accompanied by local politicians and the friends and family of both grieving families. The Battle and Rodriguez families, who were speaking amiably on Monday, appear to bear no ill will toward each other, but have indicated that they would like to help prevent future tragedies at the intersection.
Councilmember Leroy Comrie, State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, and Assemblywoman Barbara Clark were all in attendance to call for a traffic light and better traffic enforcement at the intersection. Following the accident, Smith said he can attest to the peril at the corner. In the few hours he stood on the corner he heard four different cars honk their horns at distinct times to avert possible collisions. Clark, who saw a previous Department of Transportation (DOT) study of the intersection in 1997 result in no signal changes, met with local police on July 7 about re-evaluating safety concerns at this particular intersection. "I live right up the hill from here, Ive lived with the traffic nightmares for 44 years," she said.
According to Smith, the intersection has become increasingly dangerous in recent years with a surge of 300,000 new southeast Queens residents since 1990, the increasing popularity of SUVs and motorcycles, a heavier flow of traffic and dim night lighting on the wide intersection. Community members said that the intersection requires someone to pull out very far to see if anyone is coming, and that there is insufficient street lighting. All said their goal is to see a traffic light installed at that location shortly. "Rest assured that Im going to be putting pressure on everyone and anyone I can," Rodriguez said. While a study of the intersection is conducted, DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall has agreed to install four-way stop signs and increased high-intensity lighting in the interim.
The loss of two community members will be felt for years, but the families hope that this type of accident will be prevented in the future. "My brother was a charismatic person," Cedric Battle said of his sibling Curtis, an entrepreneur, teacher and mentor who owned his own martial arts academy on Merrick Boulevard in Laurelton. "The whole community loved him and it is so sad to have to be taking this loss," Battle continued.
As for little Janae, Rodriguez said she will be fighting for this traffic light in the name of her daughter. "My daughter brought a lot of joy to people," Rodriguez said. "My only comfort is knowing that she is happy and watching over us until the end. She is going to make sure that things get done."
