Troubled Crosswalk Site Of 18 Accidents In Past Three Years, Including Three Pedestrians

by Patricia A. Miller

Enough is enough.

Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. and Township Council members are demanding the state Department of Transportation make safety improvements to the Route 9 and Frederick Drive pedestrian crosswalk, after the death of a Bayville woman who was killed trying to cross the highway last Saturday night.

Denise Iesals, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:18 p.m., shortly after the 8:59 p.m. accident, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has said.

Also hit was Nelson Negron Jr, 51, Little Egg Harbor. Negron was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was listed in critical condition, Della Fave said.

The two pedestrians were struck by a 2009 Hyundai Sonata driven by Alexander Aguilar, 22, Bayville. Aguilar was traveling south when he approached the center line of the roadway and hit Iesals and Negron in the southbound lane, Della Fave said.

The governing body first passed a resolution on June 24, 2013 asking for help with the crosswalk. They passed another one at the Dec. 14 Township Council meeting.

“The township believes that too many lives have been lost and/or negatively affected due to unsafe conditions...” according to the Dec. 14 resolution.

Officials want the DOT to install a pedestrian walkway with push-button activated signals that would turn all lights red in the area, with the exception of a light in the crosswalk. They also want better lighting in the area.

Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said he had already spoke to Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, who assured him the matter would be taken care of.

Authorities said it appeared that Aguilar was distracted just prior to the crash and as per the state motor vehicle code, failed to stop for pedestrians while crossing within a designated crosswalk, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Al Della Fave has said.

”Criminal charges may be pending the blood results and a full review of the accident investigation facts by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office,” he said.”

Both Iesals and Negron were trying to cross in an easterly direction within the designated crosswalk when they were hit, he said.

Aguilar, a Domino’s Pizza employee, was returning from a delivery he had just made when the crash occurred. He was uninjured and showed no signs of impairment. Police found no evidence that Aguilar had been using his cell phone at the time of the crash, Della Fave said.

Aguilar told police that just before the crash, he was looking down counting the tip he had just received from his delivery.

When he looked up, he saw a female in front of his vehicle and was unable to avoid her. Aguilar did not know he struck a second person until he exited his vehicle and saw the two of them unconscious in the roadway, Della Fave said.

Services for Iesals will be held on Thursday and Friday in Bayville.