Accident-prone stretch of Summerlin Parkway warrants closer look

Say what you will about Summerlin Parkway, but to question its safety may be stretching things a bit. Yes, there have been deadly accidents on the parkway, just as there have been on other freeways and side streets.

But to point to insufficient guardrails along some of the parkway as a reason to condemn the entire 6-mile roadway may be somewhat of an unfair accusation.

There are legitimate questions, however, surrounding one section, in the general vicinity of the Rampart Boulevard overpass.

That’s because there have been four accident fatalities on the parkway in the last four years, according to trooper Loy Hixson, a spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol. A fifth fatality is known to have occurred seven years ago. And four of those five lives were taken along the stretch of highway near the Rampart Boulevard overpass.

“Obviously, one fatality is one too many,” said Hixson, who is often on the scene of major freeway accidents.

And, obviously, when four parkway fatalities occur in the same vicinity, it is indeed time for someone in a position of authority to closely examine the situation.

A recent fatal mishap on the parkway occurred on Feb. 5, taking two lives. A westbound pickup truck crossed the median near Rampart Boulevard, during daylight hours, and hit a Toyota sedan, traveling in the opposite direction.

It was a head-on collision that killed the female driver and her passenger. her boyfriend. Such a tragic occurrence is of immense proportion. In addition to leaving two families grieving, the couple had been dating for more than a year.

The driver responsible was charged with two counts of felony drunken driving. No one will ever know for certain to what extent the influence of alcohol prompted him to cross the median.

Still, you might say it was a situation that could have occurred on any roadway, anywhere, perpetrated by a DUI. It’s no secret that drunken drivers are a major menace and a threat to the lives of so many others, as evidenced by the thousands of innocent drivers, passengers and pedestrians killed by DUIs every year.

Friends and family members of the two who died strongly believe that guardrails in that location could have avoided the mishap. They and others contend that barriers along other areas of the parkway as well would make it safer.

Hixson maintains that generally “the shrubs, trees and rocks along the median serve as a barrier. Most of the time they do what they’re supposed to do.”

Almost a year earlier, on Jan. 16, 2013, a cement truck driver was killed in the same general location when his truck crossed the median and collided with a Metropolitan Police vehicle, injuring two officers. The truck overturned and dropped 20 feet into a wash.

The fourth parkway fatality Hixson referred to occurred in 2010 near the Buffalo Drive underpass, which is some 2 miles from Rampart Boulevard.

But the wife of a man killed along the parkway’s Rampart Boulevard area in 2007 said the accident occurred when a truck blew a tire, moved out of control across the median and hit her husband’s vehicle head on. Of course, a tire blowout, like a DUI, could happen at any time, anywhere.

Overall, the parkway’s safety record is good, especially when considering the daily volume of traffic that feeds on and off the roadway.

But four lives taken along the same stretch of road in seven years should warrant a close look by highway engineers and other professionals. Moreover, the city, which is responsible for most of the freeway, has been hearing from relatives and friends of the parkway accident victims. Their outcry, growing in volume, has been to erect additional guardrails that would prevent vehicles from crossing the medians, whether driven by DUIs or anyone else.

“We have referred those requests to the mayor’s office,” city spokesman Jace Radke said. “They’re in the hands of our traffic engineers.”

Hopefully some favorable decisions will come forth. Similar requests to the city were made several years ago, but a sick economy then froze the funds needed for such a study.

Herb Jaffe was an op-ed columnist and investigative reporter for most of his 39 years at the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. His most recent novel, “Double Play,” is now available. Contact him at hjaffe@cox.net.