Residents call for safer Stephanie

The accident that took the life of 17-year-old Bridget Chambers at the junction of Highway 395 and Stephanie Way a week ago today involved a failure to yield, the major cause of accidents at that location, according to statistics from Nevada's Department of Transportation.

Curbs, lights and special turnout lanes were added to the intersection in 1998 but despite the improvements, there were 28 accidents at the intersection from January of 1999 to date, resulting in 12 injuries.

This is the first fatality, according to Transportation spokesman Fred Hinners.

The statistics must seem hollow to those involved, including Kristen Anderson, a passenger in Chambers' 1996 Toyota Corolla.

Forrest Ladd, a 79-year-old Minden resident, was southbound in his GMC utility vehicle when the accident occurred. He struck Chambers' car while attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Stephanie Way.

"She was sitting next to Bridget. She said she saw her friend die," said her father, Kurt Anderson.

He said Kristen has been very quiet about the accident. Right now, she's spending a lot of time interacting with the Chambers family.

"It's also created some real anguish for my wife and I," he said. "I stopped at the wreck site the other night and realized my daughter was 18 inches away from dying herself.

"We need an overpass there to eliminate that situation completely," he said.

Anderson spoke calmly but with resolve as he listed the numerous hazards that could have contributed to the accident.

The size of the utility vehicle when compared to the Toyota, drivers that speed and tailgate, the lack of more stringent controls at the intersection and the lack of visibility, with respect to enforcement.

"People are reckless and the laws aren't enforced," he said. "But in my estimation, drivers comply only when they're at risk of being pulled over."

Ladd was traveling at about 5 to 10 mph when he hit Chambers, who was driving about 65 mph, according to Nevada Highway Patrol officials.

Sheriff Ron Pierini said he didn't know what could have been done with respect to enforcement in this accident, but speed is the biggest concern for law enforcement officials.

"My number one wish, is that people abide by the posted speed limit," he said. "People are driving too fast and there's no real reason. It's a big issue. Everyone's in such a hurry. It's such a shame."

Pierini said his four traffic officers are writing about 5,000 citations a year, but it's not having much of an impact.

Anderson said the age of the drivers involved could have been a factor in this tragedy.

"We've lived here for three years. In that time, the population and the traffic have increased significantly," he said. "There are more drivers, and more retirees."

As age increases, older drivers generally become more conservative to match their declining capabilities, but statistics show that older drivers are more likely than younger ones to be involved in multi-vehicle crashes, particularly at intersections, according to an article in Smart Motorist.

"After the age of 75, the risk of driver fatality increases sharply, because older drivers are more vulnerable to both crash-related injury and death," the article states. "Three behavioral factors in particular may contribute to these statistics: poor judgement in making left-hand turns; drifting within the traffic lane; and decreased ability to change behavior in response to an unexpected or rapidly changing situation."

Sergeant John Schilling, spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol, said no citation was issued and he doesn't expect to see any results from the ongoing investigation for four to five weeks.

"When something this serious happens, we do a fairly in-depth investigation," he said.

Failure to yield the right-of-way and driver inattention are two of the three most prevalent reasons for fatal accidents in Nevada, led only by drunk driving, according to a study completed by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Fred Droes, chief safety and traffic engineer for Nevada's Department of Transportation, said no changes are scheduled for the intersection despite the tragedy.

"But as traffic on that corridor grows it certainly is possible," he said.



Susie Vasquez can be reached at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.



BREAKOUT

An account has been set up to help the Chambers family with expenses. Donations can be mailed or dropped off at any U.S. Bank, in the name of the Bridget Chambers Memorial Fund.