Pedestrian death spurs debate in City Hall

A month after the tragic death of 15-year-old New Brunswick resident George Coleman Jr., residents called on the City Council to improve pedestrian safety, notify relatives in emergency situations and the accountability of officials.
The City Council and police department discussed the steps they are taking to prevent another incident like Coleman’s at their bi-monthly public meeting last night in City Hall.
Several residents raised concerns about the physical construction of the intersection at Commercial Avenue and Route 18 North, where Coleman was killed, especially the lack of curbs, fast traffic, presence of 18-wheeler trucks and inability to locate Boyd Park without crossing the intersection.
“We did not subscribe to a design that would limit the access to the park, and I believe [City Administrator Thomas] Loughlin is putting the issue of 18-wheel trucks on the table with the Department of Transportation,” Council President Elizabeth Garlatti said.
A few days after last’s week vigil for Coleman, Loughlin went to the New Jersey Department of Transportation to ask for a review of the intersection and to provide a report of improvements, Loughlin said. The city is also working on implementing a 35-mile per hour speed limit there.
“[The DOT is] looking at a couple of elements of the intersection, particularly the timing mechanism by which you press the pedestrian [crossing] button and how long it takes … until the lights go red, allowing the pedestrian to cross,” Loughlin said.
Citizens were also concerned about the delay to notify Coleman’s family — five hours after he was admitted as a “John Doe” patient to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Coleman, who was severely injured, died an hour after his family arrived.
New Brunswick Police Department Capt. Vincent Sabo said when the Emergency Medical Service arrived, police provided Coleman’s information to them.
“EMS did what they had to do prior to taking Mr. Coleman to the hospital during that time,” Sabo said. “The EMS supervisor at the scene was notified by the patrolman on the scene of the name, address [and] phone number of Mr. Coleman.”
The police’s policy is that the hospital must notify the family, not the police, he said. The police — not the hospital — notifies the family only if the victim dies on the scene, as per the guidelines of the attorney general.
“It’s been like that for 18 years, as long as I’ve been a cop,” Sabo said. “It’s been a fail-proof system — we’ve never had a problem like this before.”
The police department is starting discussion of the possible implementation of a system to ensure notification, Sabo said.
Yolanda Baker, a Middlesex County committeewoman for 4th Ward, District 3, questioned why EMS members were not at the meeting, although the police had given them Coleman’s information.
“I’m not seeing a paramedic that was there here, present, to say that ‘Yes, I did receive it’ or ‘No, I didn’t receive it,’” Baker said.
She was also disturbed with how Coleman was registered at the hospital as a “John Doe,” although the police provided Coleman’s contact information, she said.
“We need to find out what happened that night,” she said. “Why he was down as a ‘John Doe?’ That is so unacceptable, especially when [Sabo] said the information was given. We need some answers for this. They need some answers for this.”
Sabo said the discrepancy occurred when the information was going through the hospital.
“That’s where the problem was, as far as the contacts that we made,” he said. “It’s a serious accident, I totally understand that, and … we’re looking to the future, of the possibility of a fail-safe.”
New Brunswick resident Kathleen Feeney stressed the importance of accountability by the authorities and the council members as elected officials.
“Some anonymous EMS worker who failed to give it to some anonymous person … is the most disturbing part of the tragedy,” she said. “Accountability is required.”
Feeney said the citizens should have names of the people involved with the issue and the council should take actions to ensure they do not make similar mistakes or are fired.
“Take responsibility,” she said. “Say ‘We own this, and we will account for what happened.’”
Garlatti said she cannot speak for the hospital or EMS, but the appropriate representatives for the city, like Sabo and Loughlin — who is working with the DOT — were at the meeting.
“Those involved in this process do have names, and they are working hard to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” she said.
The Coleman family’s attorney, Patricia Bombelyn, spoke on behalf of the family.
Bombelyn said there is no compensation for the family for the loss of their son, but they want justice and to know that this can never happen again.
“I’m hearing tonight that [the council is] adopting a proactive view towards this, and I do hope you hold on to it,” Bombelyn said.

3 comments

Sean

Thu Nov 19 2009 18:18

It is my understanding that Coleman and the other young men he was crossing the street with pushed the button and believed they were crossing properly when the accident happened.

I think that rather than ticketing people, what we need here is for the city council and the mayor to take responsibility for the safety of NB residents. They certainly wanted to take credit for the "completion" of the project a few months ago. But, of course, it wasn't really complete because it didn't have all the construction done and vital safety features were absent.

The speed limit signs were blank and now we hear from city administrator, Tom Loughlin, that they want the limit to be 35mph. If that had been done when they cut the ribbon on this highway, I believe this wouldn't have happened. The driver was going about double that speed.

Certainly the Dept. of Transportation is the most culpable in this matter, however, that doesn't mean our elected leaders should ignore their responsibility to ensure the safety of all New Brunswick residents.

I think that with power comes responsibility. In real terms what that means is, if you're going to take credit for the project, you damn well better be there at the vigil when that same project kills someone.

The city council had a month to do something before last night's meeting.

As usual, action comes from the residents who stand up be heard.

Your name

Thu Nov 19 2009 10:43

Let's have the cops start giving Jaywalking tickets so people begin obeying traffic rules. That way at least, we won't have unfortunate deaths like this.

Mike

Wed Nov 18 2009 23:42

The Coleman Family did attend the meeting. They did not wish to speak.

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