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Petition calls for safety improvements to Route 16

The petition was created by the family of a Buffalo teen who died in a car crash earlier this month.

ELMA, N.Y. — It's been almost two weeks now since the crash that killed Bishop Timon graduate Cameron Velazquez in Sardinia.

"He was a beautiful soul that just emanated positivity," said Cameron's cousin, Holly Velasquez. 

And there's a push now for a change to Route 16 that some say could prevent crashes like this one.

The family of Velasquez, who was from Buffalo, has created a petition that now has more than 5,000 signatures. State Senator Patrick Gallivan has seen that petition, and the message is clear: the Velasquez family wants Route 16 to be made safer.

Cameron Velasquez had his whole life right in front of him.

As a recent Bishop Timon High graduate, Velasquez was a freshman at Alfred State. 

Velasquez was driving home nearly two weeks ago, on Route 16 in Sardinia, when he crashed into a flatbed tractor trailer.

He died at the scene.

Now the Velasquez family is pushing for safety improvements to be made to the road, creating a petition and demanding that rumble strips, which alert the driver they're on the shoulder or on the center line, be put on Route 16. 

In the petition, the Velasquez family says Route 16 is "incredibly dangerous" and that "this problem is long standing and it's time for a change." 

"This tragedy is something that we as a family don't want anybody to ever experience again and we feel rumble strips could help prevent that" said Velasquez.

"We've seen a number of problems on Route 16 and I have concerns of course," Gallivan said. "I've reached out to the regional director of the DOT. We haven't had a conversation yet, but we of course will pass on the concern of our constituents and our concerns as well."

The New York State Department of Transportation sent 2 On Your Side a statement about the petition.

"The New York State Department of Transportation is developing its upcoming capital plan and will consider installing center-line rumble strips to enhance safety for motorists in numerous locations in Western New York, including along Route 16. Generally speaking, these decisions are based upon criteria such as pavement conditions, traffic counts, speed limits and roadway characteristics. NYSDOT has installed nearly 300 miles of center-line rumble strips in Western New York in recent years and is planning to add even more."

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