A 14-year-old girl was hit by a car at the intersection of Bridge and West Main streets Monday evening.
The accident has pedestrians in the area calling for better cross signals and more lighting on the stretch of road — which has increased traffic because of construction on the nearby Maple Street bridge.
Monday’s accident happened just before 6 p.m., on the bridge on Bridge Street.
The girl did not have serious injuries, police said, but she was taken to Bridgeport Hospital as a precaution.
Another accident at the same intersection a couple weeks ago left two men with severe injuries.
The stepdaughter of one of those men was at the intersection shortly after Monday’s crash.
“I walk here all the time,” said Amber Sperling, whose stepfather Joseph Simon was hit by a car at the same intersection on Oct. 29.
On that night, Simon and Adam Lein were crossing in front of J.R.B.‘s when a white Pontiac driven by Michael Raucci struck them.
Police later arrested Raucci and charged him with driving under the influence. Simon suffered a broken leg and broken ribs, while Lein had serious head injuries, as well as broken bones.
Sperling said she now has a hard time going through the intersection without strong emotions.
“It’s crazy. I refuse to cross here,” Sperling said. “I walk all the way down to Fitzpatrick’s to cross, just to get to Target,” which is on West Main Street.
Broken Crosswalk Signal?
Monday, several people gathered at the intersection, watching as police investigated the scene.
They spoke about the dangerous intersection.
Mary Smith, of Ansonia, demonstrated how difficult it is to cross the road by pressing the cross signal button.
“Just wait,” Smith said.
The traffic light turned red on Bridge Street and green on West Main. No walk signal appeared. Then the light turned red on West Main and green on Bridge Street. Again, no walk signal appeared.
For at least 10 minutes, the cycle continued, with no walk signal.
Sperling noted a blackened street light on Bridge Street that masked pedestrians walking along the sidewalk there.
“They need to put more lights on the bridge,” she said.
In light of the recent accidents at the intersection, the police department is looking into the cross signals, and whether signs in the area might make a difference, according to Lt. Andrew Cota.
Maple Street Overflow
After police left the scene Monday, traffic remained heavy at the intersection.
Dawn Kahyaoglu, the owner of J.R.B.‘s, attributes the increased traffic to the closure of the Maple Street bridge, a couple blocks away. All traffic across the Naugatuck River is now diverted over Bridge Street.
Once police left the scene Monday, people began running the red lights at the intersection.
“It would take me sometimes 15 minutes to get over this bridge, so I understand they’re frustrated,” Kahyaoglu said. “But people aren’t even paying attention. It’s rotten.”
Cota said police continue to investigate the accident. No tickets had been issued as of 7 p.m. Monday.
