130 Crash Update - Driver Charged And A Petition for a Pedestrian Bridge

Since Monday's fatal crash on US 130 in Delran that took the life of Christal Smith several developments have taken place

• Reports have suggested that Ms. Smith was crossing with the green signal 
• According to the Courier Post the driver of the vehicle has been charged with failure to observe a signal
• Local residents have created an online petition to replace the crosswalk with a pedestrian bridge.
• More than 1500 signatures have already been collected including the family of Christal Smith and friends of Melinda Stone, who was killed crossing at this intersection in 1993.

20 Year Old Woman Dies on Route 130 - Can We Now Talk About Real Solutions?

Route 130 has been named the most dangerous road for pedestrians, For Delran Route 130 is the town's Main Street. 6 lanes divided by a pesky jersey barrier. According to Phillyburbs.com 20 Year Old Christal Smith of Delran was struck on Monday at 6:40 AM in the crosswalk in front of Holy Cross High School. She was heading to her job at Shop Rite in the nearby Hartford Corners Shopping Center. As is often the case the driver has not been charged.

The signal at this crosswalk is pedestrian activated, The crossing is unique because the right of way was sawcut into the jersey barrier. The irony is that this crossing was probably created in the name of safety.


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Even old school highway engineers would consider this an afterthought.

Delran would be a great place for officials to conduct a road safety audit, these audits are usually performed by transportation experts on foot and the results would create a priority list of engineering, enforcement and education solutions to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities.

Our condolences go out to friends and family of Christal Smith. Let's hope that this tragedy spurs the call for real changes on Route 130.