Editor, Gazette-Journal:
The intersection of Route 14 and Crab Thicket Road in Gloucester is a dangerous one and needs to be fixed. And I can attest to this from my own traumatic experience.
It was a beautiful September evening and I was chatting with my then 10-month-old son. Next thing I knew I was waking up to what looked like smoke and a blood-curdling scream from my son. I knew the car was on fire and I had to get him out. We would either both make it or blow up here together.
The months that followed were filled with multiple appointments to treat what was later found to be a labral tear. They also discovered I had migraines. These were discovered months after the accident and they were so severe I had to pull into the gas station on Crab Thicket and Route 14 to get sick. This formed another traumatic memory at that intersection.
The treatment for the tear would be a highly technical surgery and for the migraines I would need multiple medications. The surgery required being on crutches for 8 weeks. My son, aged 15 months at this stage, had just started to walk. He was still wobbly and liked being carried most of the time. How would I help him through this stage of development while I was on crutches myself? I decided to try a steroid injection in my hip to see if I could delay the surgery till he was a bit older and independent. At this point I had gone from exercising six days a week for about an hour to nothing at all. It was a complete lifestyle change. In 10 seconds, I went from being a healthy 40-year-old to feeling like an injured 60-year-old.
Due to these migraines I have modified my work schedule, often avoid bright lights, and I am careful about my sleep schedule. None of these are easy to manage with two young kids.
Why am I telling you this? Because someone should tell their story and try to make a change. In the past year, I have personally driven by five accidents at that intersection and friends have told me about countless others they have seen. How can an intersection be safe if it has an accident there at least once a month? How is it acceptable to allow people to live with lifelong injuries because the government did not feel there was a need for a change, or worse, there wasn’t a need for the expense? How many injuries and lives need to be damaged for it to be ‘worth’ it?
Something needs to be done, like a new traffic light, and hopefully my story, which represents just one of thousands, will make the key decision makers re-consider what is defined as ‘safe.’ That intersection is not safe and won’t be till we make a change.
Sonia Dayal
Mathews, Va.