BLUEFIELD — Six years ago a crash at a local highway intersection ended a young man’s life, but signs erected since that sad event have helped reduce the possibility for fatal intersection crashes on U.S. Route 460.
Seventeen-year-old Eric Joshua Breeden was entering Route 460 at the intersection with Cumberland Road in Bluefield when his vehicle was hit by a tractor-trailer, said his father, Craig “Shannon” Breeden, 51, of Princeton.
“It was a horrible accident,” he recalled. “A tractor-trailer ran a red light on him. Basically, he was with two girls. The girls survived. These three kids were coming across the intersection and they had no idea what was going to happen to them.”
An accident re-creation specialist later determined the truck had been going 79 mph when it reached the intersection, Breeden said.
Despite the grief, the Breeden family organized an effort for measures to help avoid a similar tragedy in the future.
“We had a petition for the state highway to drop the speed limit on that road at the intersections,” Breeden said. “It was signed and it was sent in quick. It was a horrible thing to have to do at my son’s death, but I wanted to do it quick while it was going on.”
Now there are signs a quarter-mile from intersections warning motorists that traffic lights up ahead are now red. The speed limit at those points is 50 mph. Local police also monitor Route 460 in the Bluefield vicinity for speeders.
“The Bluefield Police Department really watches the speed real closely through Bluefield,” Breeden said. “It makes us feel good that it is being watched so close.”
Chief Joe Wilson said: “I think that we probably have a reduction of serious accidents up there. We kind of have a correlation between speed and bad accidents.” Officers use radar to monitor speed through the Bluefield.
However, a lighted 50 mph sign is not at the Cumberland Road intersection. The traffic engineering department with the West Virginia Department of Highways has certain guidelines and specifications to follow when determining where to place traffic signs, said Tom Camden, interim director of DOH District 10.
“Each location almost has to be taken and reviewed independently,” Camden said. “A good deal of it is based on sight distance, downhill grade and distance between signals.” The Cumberland Road intersection has “good sight distance” when approached from the east, he said.
However, sign placement is not a static process, he said.
“We have a traffic engineering department that continuously evaluates these things,” Camden added. “Even to the extent of checking for skid marks. That would indicate that people are coming up on a (stop) light unexpectedly.”
People who are concerned about a sign situation should contact the DOH at 304-425-2155, Camden said.
No matter what types of warning signs or traffic lights are posted, motorists can help avoid deadly accidents by controlling their speed,
“Just please slow down,” Breeden asked. “You don’t have to be going that fast to go anywhere.”
Local News
June 20, 2010
Father’s mission: Prevent future tragedies
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