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Local News 
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Safety long a concern for road involved in fatal wreck Saturday's fatal accident wasn't the first for North Road, but fixes are coming. Ron Melander heard a sound that startled him right out of bed early Saturday morning.He's heard plenty of cars run off the pavement over the year and a half he's lived at the sharp curve on North Road. Saturday was different. “There was no screeching or anything,” said Melander, 66. “It just went ‘wump,' and it was over.” A car with four young men driving home from a party struck a tree in front of Melander's rented home. Police believe the 1993 Volkswagen Corrado was going about 70 mph to 80 mph when it slid off the road. The speed limit leading into the curve is 35 mph. Killed were driver Brandon Norton, 21, who was the designated driver, and passenger Ehlo Blacknall, 20. Seriously injured were Trevor Moore, 21 and Tyler Gilbert, 20. Moore is on life support at Harborview Medical Center. People who live along North Road, which connects Filbert Road, or Highway 524, to 164th Street SW, say the accident only heightens safety concerns they've raised for years. Saturday's fatal crash happened only yards away from a memorial to three other young people who lost their lives in a wreck there about a dozen years ago. There have been 31 motor vehicle accidents reported along North Road since April 2002, according to Snohomish County Fire District 1. Of those, 16 were injury accidents and two involved pedestrians. Collision studies rate the road as one of the safer ones among the 620 road segments studied countywide. Neighbors worry about the frequency of cars going into the ditch. And now that the new Lynnwood High School is just up the road, some worry about the safety of students who walk along the road. There are no sidewalks. There is a shoulder only on the west side of the road. Marv Nicholson, who lives along North Road just south of the new high school, said he's been giving officials an earful for years. “Nobody seems to be concerned about it,” he said. “I guess the change will happen when someone gets hurt.” County engineers are fast-tracking upgrades along North Road because of a request from the County Council and Executive Aaron Reardon to improve safety along the road sooner rather than later, officials say. That $15.2 million project will reconfigure 1.78 miles of North Road as a three-lane road with sidewalks, bike lanes and planter strips on both sides. Work is expected to start in 2012. County Councilman Dave Gossett, whose district includes North Road, said that for years, improvements along the road were expected to happen after 2025 — and then only if money became available. Gossett said he pushed to get the improvements done sooner for three reasons. “First, the neighbors were concerned about the road,” he said. “Second, the high school was going in and I thought it was important to have a date certain as opposed to a date someday.” Finally, he said, the council also realized that with 164th Street SW maxed out with traffic, the impact to nearby roads had to be considered more closely. |
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COMMENTS
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Here we go again, lets blame the road not the stupid drivers. Roads don't cause the problems drivers do!!!
James Kittleson | Nov 21, 2009 6:09 pm | 1 replies | Request removal
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I have been driving that road for about two years delivering building materials to the new school, My truck is 70FT. long and legal GVW."gross vehical weight"105,500 LBS. the people that drive that road are pretty wreckless, The kids walk right the edge of the fog line. Everybody must take there own responsablity for there own actions. Everyone runs late and trys to make up there time on the roads, I see it all the time. When your driving you need to be focused on driving. I think that 95% of you are idiots when it comes to driving, especialy the young drivers, They don't have a clue, You can train a monkey to drive better than most
D Webster | Nov 22, 2009 11:43 am | Request removal
By reading all the post related to this story all of you are the perfect driver. I am sure all of you have violated the traffic laws at least once.... I would even say that all of you have driven faster than the posted speed limit, you have been fortunate not to kill yourself or somebody else. Did this youg man make a bad decision? Yes, just like every human has. Get off your soap box and think before you comment.
todd christensen | Nov 22, 2009 9:45 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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I drove by the scene of this crash today and saw the memorial . It made me sick lets honor a bunch of kids driving like morons the only reason for that wreck was bad decisions made by stupid kids . Lets just be glad they didn't take some inocent driver or pedestrian out with them
Randy johanson | Nov 21, 2009 10:33 pm | 0 replies | Request removal
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He hit the nail right on the head. This isn't just a local problem, either, it's nationwide. Too many drivers just do not pay attention when they're driving. Unfortunately, that's only one of the issues on the roads here in Washington. Too many drivers don't utilize the freeway on-ramps properly (many have not gotten up to the same speed as freeway traffic when they reach the juncture with the freeway, causing freeway drivers to have to slam on their brakes to avoid a collision), and four-way stops-don't even get me started. If two or more drivers arrive at one at the same time, the person the furthest to the right has the right-of-way! If it's your turn to go, then go! I'm also all for letting someone in when traffic is heavy and you're going to have to stop anyway but coming to a screeching halt in moving traffic just so you can be polite and let someone in is a major safety hazard. I can't tell you how many times I've seen this happen. If you're a driver on a main thoroughfare with traffic moving well but there's someone on a side street waiting to get in, they just have to wait until what traffic is there clears. You are NOT supposed to impede moving traffic. That's basic Driver's Ed which, clearly, isn't being taught properly.
C C | Nov 20, 2009 5:33 pm | 0 replies | Request removal
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I am commenting about the safety of North Road. I have lived on this road for 10 years and have never seen a ticket given once. At least 50% of drivers are speeding. Many times when I tell people I live on the North Road Freeway, they laugh and say “That’s the only road I speed on, you won’t get a ticket”. I do 35mph and generally have someone on my rear, wanting me to hurry up. Why hasn’t anyone commented on the lack of Police/Sherriff presence day or night? Any Friday or Saturday night (1am – 2:30am) drivers are flooring it near the new school and always have. Maybe they should lower the speed limit to 25 or 30mph, so people will go 35- 40mph?
I have also wondered why there is no 20mph School Zone at the new Lynnwood High? Would be too much trouble to enforce it? The cars are just flying by the kids walking. I guess when a student gets hit by a car, we can comment again.
K N | Nov 19, 2009 6:00 pm | 0 replies | Request removal
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I cant belive after this second fatallity that the road has money and a date set for "fixing" it. has the state forgotten about the " highway to hell" in the sky valley. hwy 2 has an incriedible amount of fatalitys and horrible accidents and all they have really done is put a counter in to let us know how long its been since a serious accident. how about doing something about this.
melany haddock | Nov 19, 2009 2:02 pm | 0 replies | Request removal
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This is a typical reponse from people looking for answers rather than looking in the mirror & accepting what really happened.
These roads were not built with "safety" in mind. Why? Because a horse knew better back then.
It's unfortunate the horses replacement does not, that is why we have "speed limit" signs & "curve ahead" signs posted.
I am so sorry for what happened in this particular case, but it does not remove from the fact that "speed", not road, is what lead to this collision with an innocent tree.
cme everett | Nov 19, 2009 2:39 am | 2 replies | Request removal
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while i like emoticons just as much as the next guy, your insensitivity to the friends and family of the deceased in this incident is not necessary and it would be appreciated if you would tone it down a bit. It was a unfortunate thing. . . let's leave it at that.
Dawn Blacknall | Nov 19, 2009 4:05 am | Request removal
I am sorry to say this, but the road is NOT at fault here. It is driver error pure and simple. We lived near that curve for almost 30 years and never had a problem with it other than taking it slow and easy especially when it was snowy or icy. From my recollection most of the incidents involving this curve also involve young inexperienced drivers not paying attention to the what they are supposed to be doing at the time....DRIVING a vehicle. This behavior behind the wheel often ends up in tragedy such as this case. Most of the accidents at this curve only involve one vehicle (usually with 3 or more young people inside). What does that say? Also, there is no way to negotiate that curve at a high rate of speed.
I feel for the families. but the road needs nothing done to it.....I think the only thing that COULD be done is to put a stop light up? That shouldn't have to happen due to inattentive drivers...but then many things in life aren't fair, are they?????
bev mangum | Nov 19, 2009 10:46 am | Request removal
Oh yes, blame "SPEED", blame "The Road", blame "The Tree"!!
Blame anything but the DRIVER! The IDIOT behind the wheel!!
How about for once blaming "STUIDITY!"
It was the DRIVER'S fault, not the road, not the curve, not the tree, not even inexperience.
The driver was stupid and his stupidity was to blame.
Instead, we'll have a rash of new signs, more "Speed Traps" more of everything but commonsense and better TRAINING!
How about that Mr. Legislator, how about More TRAINING for new drivers. How about replacing the pathetic excuse for a Driving Exam with a real test and compulsory training that includes winter driving skills, freeway driving skills, skid-control techniques .. how about that!
Make it more difficult to get a license so that the stupid ones aren't allowed on the road to start with!
For an example of what a better training system is, take a look at Finalnd or Germany.
Hey, it would give you, Mr. Legislator, an excuse to go for a state paid visit to Europe!
"Keep Stupidity Off The Road!"
"Put the Phone Down and DRIVE!"
Pete Eaton | Nov 19, 2009 9:34 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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Speaker Of The Truth | Nov 19, 2009 9:27 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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I am sad for the families that lost a child.
I do have to ask, when did personal responsibility become a thing of the past. I've driven that road. If one pays attention and drives the speed limit, while sober, there should be no problem.
Accidents are preventable but they make they news everyday.
Irresponsible and reckless drivers are usually the cause, not the curve in the road or the speed limit sign.
Bobby G | Nov 19, 2009 6:29 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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The road isn't safe because it isn't built to accomadate inexperienced drivers at greater than freeway speeds? Get real people. I drive North Road fairly frequently, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I TK | Nov 19, 2009 5:55 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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