BUFFALO, N.Y. - A series of reforms to the Scajaquada Expressway near Delaware Park will take immediate effect at the request of both Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Byron Brown's administration, following an accident Saturday in which a car struck and killed a three-year-old boy and injured his mother and sister.
The children's mother suffered bumps and bruises when the car entered the park while traveling westbound on the Scajaquada Expressway. Her five-year-old daughter emerged from a successful surgery with a strong prognosis, but she remains in the hospital in critical condition.
"This has been a tough 24 hours for the City of Buffalo," Mayor Brown said at a press conference called Sunday evening to announce the changes, just a day after the accident that shocked community leaders into action.
You can watch the complete press conference here:
Following the injuries and fatality, Gov. Cuomo sent a letter late Sunday afternoon to the state's Department of Transportation, ordering the agency to drop the speed limit to 30 miles per hour and add new "speed messaging" boards and guard rails. Within an hour, crews changed the speed limit signs, began erecting the boards and will soon begin work on "box rails" to protect that area of the park.
As a temporary solution, the city will also add its own "jersey barriers," which Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak said will be in place by the end of the day on Monday.
In a statement, the Sugorovskiy family thanked the community for its outpouring of support, but it asked for privacy as they mourn the loss of their son. Mayor Brown met privately with the family this weekend in the hospital.
Lt. Thomas Leatherbarrow, the head of the Buffalo Police Accident Investigation Unit, said the driver of the car is no longer in police custody. Authorities have not filed charges against the man at this time.
"The driver was more than visibly upset," Leatherbarrow said. "He was fully cooperative."
Police will continue to interview witnesses, Leatherbarrow said. The driver gave police a statement, but they cannot elaborate on a possible cause of the accident at this time.
The accident immediately spurred a new Facebook group, known as "Parents For A Safe Delaware Park."
Kerri Machemer, the mother of two young children herself, said she created the organization to call attention to the grassroots effort for overhauling the Scajaquada Expressway.
"It breaks my heart to find out that what this family is going through now," Machemer said.
The group will hold a vigil at Delaware Park at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. A fundraising effort is also underway for the family.
The accident has also reignited a long-running debate about changing the Scajaquada Expressway into a parkway. One of the active neighborhood groups -- the Parkside Community Association -- sent a letter to the Department of Transportation in Oct. 2013, asking for a number of changes to improve safety and quality of life along the road and Delaware Park. The Department of Transportation responded to the letter and met with community members on multiple occasions.
Mayor Brown said the city will work with the Department of Transportation to examine all options for the expressway.
"This has been talked about over the years. The city has certainly expressed its support for a redesign of the Scajaquada Expressway," Brown said. "The park came first, and the expressway came much later. And so we are in favor of a complete redesign."
