My wife and I are grieving over the 18-year-old kid who was
killed Sunday, April 18 at 3:50 p.m. at the Sunnyslope and Fairview
intersection (
”
Man killed in accident at Sunnnyslope
”
).
Dear Editor:
My wife and I are grieving over the 18-year-old kid who was killed Sunday, April 18 at 3:50 p.m. at the Sunnyslope and Fairview intersection (“Man killed in accident at Sunnnyslope”).
It happened right in front of our eyes.
Traffic was not the cause – there were only five cars in the area. Three cars were on Sunnyslope heading to Fairview. We were in front. I stopped at the Sunnyslope intersection to turn right. I saw two cars coming down on Fairview, one to turn right, the other heading south. I waited for him to pass so I could proceed. In the meantime, the pickup behind us pulled into the left turn lane, stopped very short and proceeded unsafely. I told my wife “look, this guy almost got hit.” I hadn’t finished the sentence when Mr. Rodriguez came behind us, from nowhere, following the pickup. Mr. Rhodes did a good job avoiding the pickup, but had no chance to avoid Mr. Rodriguez.
Mr. Rhodes hit Mr. Rodriguez in the driver’s side. I will let you guess what this tragedy looked like in just a matter of seconds. I drove to the side, got out – the Rhodes family was shaken but safe. I ran to Mr. Rodriguez’s car intent on pulling him out in case of fire. Some gentlemen helped me open the door. When I saw Mr. Rodriguez, the signs of life were not very promising. In this case, we did not need a doctor to say this man’s life was over.
I can figure out what, for a second, blinded Mr. Rodriguez. The car turning right on Sunnyslope blocked the view of Mr. Rhodes’ car or Mr. Rodriguez’s mirror was in the way.
I feel, with what I witnessed, this is a very dangerous intersection. I think this would be easy to make safe until the County can afford signal lights, a couple of gallons of paint and a few cones. After turning right on Hillcrest, you would go about 100 yards then merge to the left. Block the right lane, then 100 yards before Sunnyslope merge to the right for a right turn on Sunnyslope. In my opinion, this would slow traffic and make the intersection much safer. The car turning right would slow down the ones behind him and clear the intersection.
There are too many accidents here to ignore this intersection any longer.
I would like to commend the law enforcement and fire medics and paramedics for their professionalism. Anyone who falls into their hands are in good hands.
To the Rodriguez family, our sincere condolences.
I hope more citizens agree with this about this intersection.
Amadeu and Mary Lima,
Hollister
