October 27, 2005

Pedestrian killed by teen driver on Blossom Hill Road

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

A woman attempting to cross busy Blossom Hill Road at Vassar Drive was killed during a traffic collision on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 19.

San Jose police officers examine the evidence of a tragic pedestrian fatality that occurred Oct. 14 across from the Vineland Branch Library. Photos by Charles Sullivan.

San Jose police reported that an unidentified teen driver allegedly didn’t notice the victim attempting to cross the intersection as the cars in the next lane stopped to allow the pedestrian to pass.

Killed was Esther Ouel-lette, 51. She was transported to a local hospital where she died from her injuries several hours later, police said.

The accident occurred at about 3 p.m., when Ouellette was crossing Blossom Hill Road at Vassar Drive in front of Vineland Branch Library.

After the accident a witness ran into the library and asked the employees to call 911. Several of the employees ran out to try to help the victim. While some of the employees stayed with the victim, other staffers directed traffic and one staffer tried to console the young driver, who was described as “completely devastated.” According to Library Manager Cornelia Van Aken the emergency crews responded almost immediately.

A few days ago library administrators sent a crisis counselor to work with the employees who were understandably shaken by the tragic accident.

Ironically the crosswalk was slated to receive an upgrade to a “blinking crosswalk” sometime in the next fiscal year as part of the Safe Streets Initiative, according to Laura Wells, district manager of the department of transportation.

“It’s not common, but it’s one of the ways we see pedestrians get injured,” said Linda Crabill, a spokeswoman with San Jose’s Department of Transportation, which is looking into the accident.

In the fatal traffic accident, the lane of traffic closest to the pedestrian stopped to let the woman cross the street. But the next lane of traffic, where the 17-year-old female motorist was assumed to have been driving, didn’t stop because the driver couldn’t see her, according to Crabill.

“The cars in the other lanes don’t know why the cars are stopped in the lanes next to them. It’s really unfortunate. It’s a heads up to drivers that when they see the other lane of traffic stopping, especially at a crosswalk, at the very least, they should slow their speed. One fatality is one too many,” Crabill said. “We do everything that we can in this department to look at what the safety issues are out there and to improve them to the best of our abilities. Whatever safety devices we can engineer we’re very open to using all of those solutions to improve safety.”

San Jose Police officer Denise Escobar said that a preliminary investigation suggests that Ouellette was walking in the crosswalk, crossing south to north across Blossom Hill Road, when several vehicles in the number-two lane stopped for her.

The motorist traveling eastbound in the number-one lane struck the victim. The 17-year-old driver stopped and remained at the scene. San Jose Police officers interviewed the driver. Police say that at least two other drivers who witnessed the accident drove off. They’re appealing to those witnesses to contact investigators. The case remains under investigation.

Crabill said the intersection where the fatal accident occurred was studied in 2001. She said the department is not considering putting a traffic signal there as of now.

Crabill said the addition of the Vineland Branch Library near the accident site might have caused a change in traffic and pedestrian patterns, and the city may consider putting a traffic signal there in the future. Including the recent fatality, only two accidents have occurred at the intersection. The other crash was not due to speed but due to an unsafe lane change, she said.

The process for requesting a signal begins with residents calling the city’s Department of Transportation at 535-3850 and asking for a study of the intersection to look at volume, speeds and other traffic issues. If it meets the criteria for a traffic signal it will be placed on a warrant list of traffic signals prioritized according to need, Crabill said. The cost for a new signal at that location would be more than $300,000, she added.

Anyone with information on this case is urged to call Officer Denise Escobar of the San Jose Police Department’s Vehicular Crimes Unit at (408) 277-4654. Persons wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP.