Pedestrian hit last week in Sunderland on the mend

By GEORGE CLAXTON Gazette Contributing Writer

Published on March 05, 2010

SUNDERLAND - The woman hit Feb. 26 by a pickup truck near the 7-Eleven parking lot on Route 116 was listed in good condition Monday by Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

The location has been the scene of pedestrian accidents and public safety concern in recent years - and was recently equipped with a stoplight pedestrian crossing.

"It is my understanding that she has fractured vertebrae, a broken wrist and facial injuries," Sunderland Police Chief Jeffrey Gilbert said of the victim.

The woman was identified by police as Casey L. Patterson, 22, of Squire Village.

<h4>UMass student?</h4>

The University of Massachusetts has a Casey L. Patterson listed as a student who is studying psychology and English. However, the press office at the university could not confirm the student is the person hit by the pickup.

Calls to the telephone number belonging to the student Patterson were not answered Monday.

Police also released the name of the driver of the Nissan Frontier 4x4 alleged to have struck Patterson on Route 116: Phillip Rocasah, 68.

Rocasah said Monday he would not comment on the matter on the advice of police, as the incident is still under investigation.

A spokeswoman for the town government in Sunderland said they had no comment on Friday's crash, but remain happy that a stoplight was put in at the crosswalk near the 7-Eleven store.

The area has been the scene of several pedestrian accidents, including a fatality, in recent years.

"There has been a noticeable improvement in the speed of traffic on that stretch of highway and drivers do realize now that there is a traffic light there and they stop," she said.

<h4>Previous incidents</h4>

In September 2009, two women were struck by a vehicle as they walked across the road in the crosswalk.

Police say that driver was not charged criminally in the incident, but was cited for failure to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Records show that by 2009, the Sunderland town government had made repeated requests to the state Highway Department to install additional traffic controls in the area of a crosswalk.

According to Margaret Z. Nartowicz, town administrator, Sunderland had asked for a stoplight at the road crossing near the bus stops on the highway following the December 2004 death of Jessica Hayes, who had been run over by a woman driving a Jeep. Many UMass students and others live in nearby apartment buildings.

The requests for improvements to the road became more strident following a crash in 2006 involving Sunderland resident Alan Reed, 56.

Nartowicz said the state Highway Department initially responded to the town's request by making changes to the road and putting in flashing lights, but they thought that it was not enough.

Following the September 2009 crash, a stoplight was installed last autumn.

The stoplight was apparently working Friday evening. The state police accident reconstruction team is involved in the investigation.