Residents seek intersection safety after tragedy

Patrick Chen knew it was only a matter of time before there was a fatality.
The intersection of Union Turnpike and Springfield Boulevard in Oakland Gardens is dangerous, he believes, and on Tuesday, January 12, it turned deadly.
That day his employee, Connie Sui, 33, who was three months pregnant, was struck by a two-door red Honda Civic, driven by a 52-year-old man.
Police say the Honda was traveling southbound on Springfield Boulevard and proceeded to make a left turn onto Union Turnpike when it struck Sui while she was in the crosswalk.
“She went airborne and landed 40 feet away,” said Chen.
Sui was taken to North Shore Hospital in critical condition; the next day, she was declared brain dead according to the hospital. Her baby did not survive either.
“I feel so bad about the whole thing,” said Chen, whose memories of that day are still “very vivid.”
“She was very soft spoken and had a good personality,” he continued.
On the heels of the tragedy, Chen began a petition for improved traffic safety measures. To date he has collected 400 signatures.
“We continue to collect signatures every day,” said his daughter Peggy. “A lot of people said it is dangerous, and a few have said they were almost hit.”
What they want to see, said the Chens, is a traffic camera installed at the intersection of Union Turnpike and Springfield Boulevard; a mutually-exclusive schedule of traffic lights for pedestrians and vehicles making turns; and additional zebra- or ladder-style crosswalks at the east and west sides of the intersection.
“I really wish all busy intersections had a pedestrian light before cars are allowed to make turns,” said the elder Chen, who noted that other countries have this.
“Cross-hatching the crosswalks is easier,” noted Susan Seinfeld, District Manager of Community Board 11. “On behalf of Mr. Chen, we wrote to the Queens Commissioner of the Department of Transportation asking what can be done to improve pedestrian safety.”
In the six years that she has been District Manager, she said, there have been no other fatalities.
According to DOT statistics, there has been one fatality at the intersection of Union Turnpike and Springfield Boulevard during the past five years, and the area averages fewer than three reportable accidents per year in the same period. “Reportable accidents” include those with $1,000 or more worth of damages as well as any accident with an injury even if the damage is under $1,000.
The 111th Precinct has said that up until January 12, the area had not been considered accident prone. They are now monitoring the intersection.
Despite the statistics, Seinfeld said, “We have been asked many times for a dedicated left-turn arrow for drivers going south.” These, she said, are meant to help traffic flow and keep pedestrians from crossing, though many walk anyway.
Since Sui’s death, the Community Board has asked for a traffic study of the intersection.
However, the bottom line, Seinfeld said, is that “People have to be more alert.”