Deadly crossing on Route 48
43-year-old man is second pedestrian killed in two years near Soundview Restaurant
3 comments below
A 43-year-old Nesconset man was struck and killed Sunday night while trying to cross Route 48 in front of Soundview Restaurant in Greenport. It was the second pedestrian death in two years on the 50 mph stretch of road.
"He made the call, then walked out," said Ross Fredericks, the bartender on duty that night. "That's all I saw."
Thomas Keating was crossing Route 48, heading south, just east of the crosswalk in front of the restaurant, when he was hit by a 2004 Acura driven Efsevios Varsos, 42, of Bridgewater, N.J., said Southold Police Capt. Martin Flatley.
Mr. Varsos was traveling east with his wife and 3-year-old child, police said,
Mr. Keating was taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a police report. Capt. Flatley added that no alcohol was involved in the accident, and no charges have been filed.
The incident marks the second pedestrian death within two years along the 50 mph stretch of Route 48 outside the restaurant, which has overflow parking across the street to the south.
After an elderly man trying to cross to that parking lot was struck and killed by a car in early 2007, Soundview Restaurant owner Rachel Murphy pleaded with the Suffolk County Department of Public Works to make the highway stretch more friendly to pedestrians.
"We cannot let this happen again," she told The Suffolk Times in 2007. "It's time for a change. There's more people."
Tuesday night, she reiterated her concerns.
"It should be 30 mph all the way through," she said from the dining room of her restaurant, still visibly shaken by Mr. Keating's death. "We no longer have rural traffic patterns here. It's a tourist zone. Reduce the speed."
Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the location is very dangerous.
"It's a bad, bad road," he said. "Those crosswalks are not only not satisfactory, they're counterproductive in that they give people a false sense of security."
Mr. Russell said he will try to set up a meeting with the county "as soon as possible" to address the danger.
Traffic control around the Soundview Restaurant and Inn has been a safety issue for years. In 2007, Mr. Russell asked the police department to pull the records of all accidents near that location over the prior 10 years.
The reports showed 23 accidents in front of Soundview since 1997, from fender-benders in the parking lots to more severe wrecks on the road.
Two years ago, the county revealed to the town plans to move that part of the highway south this year in order to slow traffic. The plan also called for installation of a median with a planter and a narrowing of the roadway.
Suffolk County Department of Public Works Commissioner Gilbert Anderson was unavailable this week to comment on the status of these plans -- and if reducing the speed limit is now part of them.
Southold Police Detective Sgt. John Sinning said that the details of Sunday night's tragedy remain under investigation.
"I'm not going to even speculate at this point," said Mr. Sinning, when asked where Mr. Keating was coming from and where he was going that night.
eschultz@timereview.com
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3 comments found
Highway Thru Parking Lot : 12/5/2009
This is a very weird location; a highway literally separates the restaurant from its parking lot.
Is this arrangement found in any other location?
It's amazing that there aren't more of these accidents there.
Pedestrian Safety : 7/16/2009
It always takes a tragedy to bring attention to pedestrian safety issue. Thank you and I hope that you continue to make this type of reporting a priority. Cheryle Adams Pedestrian Safety Advocate
Thomas Keating : 7/10/2009
Just received bad news about Thomas Keating. Thomas was part of a band of brothers, a true patriot. I will never forget Thomas as long as I live
