AMHERST, NY -- Niagara Falls Boulevard was closed for several hours Tuesday morning between Edward White Dr. and S. Ellicott Creek Rd. due to a fatal accident involving a pedestrian.
The accident happened shortly before 6 A. M. near the intersection of Niagara Falls Blvd. and Roger Chaffee Dr.
Amherst Police say John Strasser, 61, of Amherst was killed. Police say the driver of the vehicle involved is a 20-year-old male from Buffalo. The accident is under investigation and no charges have been filed at this point.
Strasser has become the latest victim in what has been a string of recent car pedestrian fatalities along the busily traveled section of the Boulevard, according to Amherst Police Captain Patrick McKenna.
"We've had at least five that I can think of in the last three or four years, where pedestrians have been struck and killed on this section of the Boulevard," McKenna said.
Strasser was using a walker when trying to cross a section of the busy thoroughfare which has five traffic lanes, no traffic signal or crosswalk, and no street lights nearby.
"It's a 45 mile per hour speed limit and trying to get across five lanes without the help of a traffic light is a little dangerous,," said McKenna.
After it had been identified as one of the most dangerous sections of road for pedestrians in the state, the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) set out two years ago to improve safety by installing pedestrian signals at 18 intersections along the Boulevard between Kenmore Avenue and Tonawanda Creek Road.
The new signals, installed at a cost of $800,000 are equipped with push buttons, which activate timers which tell pedestrians when they can expect the light to change.
However, because there is no traffic light at the intersection where Tuesday's tragic mishap occurred, none were installed there.
"It's not practical to have them at every intersection, but there are probably some intersections that they should actually install traffic control lights and this may be one of them," said Ross Cellino of Cellino and Barnes, who says his law firm has been involved in several injury and accident cases stemming from incidents along Niagara Falls Boulevard.
"It may be good for moving cars from one place to another, but it really wasn't designed for pedestrians to be crossing, especially with the center turn lanes," Cellino said.
DOT spokesperson Susan Surdej told WGRZ-TV the agency will wait until the police investigation is complete before exploring what, if any additional safety measures may be undertaken there.
She also noted that the state has embarked on new, comprehensive pedestrian safety initiative that provides $110 million for pedestrian safety improvements across the state.