Fatal Crash Motivates Woman To Speak Out On Traffic Safety In Mahwah

MAHWAH, NJ — A May 26 crash on Route 17 in Mahwah that left a woman's grandson dead motivated her to speak out on traffic safety concerns at the township council meeting last week.

Her 20-year-old grandson was riding in a minivan that crashed into a tractor trailer in front of the Pilot truck stop just off the state highway. Since the incident, she said, others have told her stories about how they are "scared to death" of the trucks parking where they should not be — on the edge, side or even the right-hand lane of the road.

She also said that she herself, a Mahwah resident for eight years, has had an "alarming situation" due to parked trucks on that road.

"I'm heartbroken," she said at the meeting, referring to the death of her grandson. "And I don't know what to do, so I am here talking to you."

She asked the council if there were ways to make the road safer, with signs or something else.

"It is freaking me out," she said. "It is chaos."

Similarly, trucks parked along the shoulder of Interstate 287 have also proved a source of frustration for the township, according to previous Patch reporting.

"We can't figure that one out either," Board President David May said at the meeting.

Complicating the problem, May said, is that 17 and 287 are state-maintained roads, though he said the council could task township engineer Mike Kelly with coming up with ideas on what to request from the state.

In the meantime, May suggested, concerned citizens could reach out to legislators about the issue.