WCC to get signal at site where students were killed
The state has given Waubonsee Community College permission to install a traffic light at an entrance on Route 47 where two students were killed in April.
But it may take up to two years before the light is actually installed, Waubonsee officials say.
The light would go at the north entrance to the Sugar Grove campus on Route 47. The southern entrance has a signal.
Two men were killed in April trying to turn left into the campus from southbound Route 47. Their car was hit by a northbound garbage truck. The truck driver was not ticketed.
After the accident, the Illinois Department of Transportation installed warning signs with flashing lights.
"I think that we'll never know if a light would have made a difference (on April 14)," said Jeffrey Noblitt, spokesman for Waubonsee. "But we do know, and IDOT concurs, a light is the best safety measure for that intersection moving forward."
The college is seeking Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program money to pay for the signal and installation of turn lanes, estimated to cost $1 million.
The permission for the signal came as IDOT released its final report regarding the April 14 crash that killed Brandon Utley and Ryan Sherrod of North Aurora. Sherrod was driving.
It found that the current speed limit of 55 mph is appropriate. Waubonsee officials have asked several times since 2006 for a lower speed limit.
Waubonsee tried to get a signal at the northern entrance in 2006 when it received permission to install the southern signal. IDOT denied it. But traffic and school enrollment have increased since then to the point IDOT believes it is warranted, Noblitt said.
From 2004 to 2008, there were 24 reported crashes at the intersection.
Six hundred thirty-eight people "friended" a Facebook page that suggested petitioning for a traffic signal. But posters on the page also pointed out a traffic signal won't help if people fail to yield to oncoming traffic.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash, according to Kane County sheriff's police. The truck driver passed post-accident drug and alcohol tests, there was nothing wrong with the truck, and it was under the allotted weight limit, police said.
On Sept. 16, an attorney for Utley's estate filed a petition in Kane County circuit court seeking to collect a judgment or settlement of a wrongful-death claim. The public online court record system does not indicate who they are trying to get the judgment from, nor how much is being requested. The case is set for initial hearing today.