Route 125 fatal crash in Brentwood: Residents urge fix after latest 'senseless tragedy'
BRENTWOOD — A recent fatal accident at the intersection of Route 125 and South Road has town residents making a push to fix what they say is one of the most dangerous intersections in town.
The accident involving a motorcycle and a sedan on the state roadway took place Sept. 10 at 2:47 p.m. Police said the operator of the motorcycle, Brian Nash, 63, of East Kingston, was pronounced dead shortly following the accident. The driver of the sedan did not seek medical treatment.
Brentwood Police Chief John Ventura said neither speed nor alcohol were a factor in the accident. He recently addressed the accident and a petition by residents calling on the state to make the intersection safer at a recent town Selectboard meeting.
"I can tell you in that particular accident as far as the investigation that speed was not a factor," Ventura said. "In my opinion, one of the leading contributors was the intersection itself and the layout of it."
Ventura said the sight lines at the intersection are "terrible" especially if you are turning left on Route 125.
Ventura told the Selectboard he previously reached out to the state Department of Transportation regarding the intersection and the town's safety concerns. The intersection, he said, is on the department's radar but the process is slow moving and there needs to be traffic study, traffic counts and crash counts before changes could be made.
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Residents want traffic lights at intersection
Resident Eric Canty started a Change.org petition requesting the state install a traffic light at the intersection.
"Over the 8 years my family has lived in Brentwood, we have witnessed several motor vehicle accidents, several of which have resulted in fatalities at the intersection of NH Route 125 and South Road," he stated in the petition
The petition had more than 1,700 signatures at last check. One woman wrote that she lost her sister in a crash near the intersection six years ago while another said the "entire road and all intersections have been dangerous and deadly for the 30-plus years I have traveled it."
The petition calls for traffic lights similar to the ones that exist on the North Road and Middle Road intersections of Route 125.
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State Department of Transportation is aware of the concerns
Ventura told the Selectboard that he spoke with the state Department of Transportation chief engineer Bill Lambert about the possibility of installing the light.
"Traffic lights are very difficult," he said.
He said a more realistic solution may be to install turning lanes in that area because blinking yellow traffic lights are not as effective. Another possible fix, he said, was a sign with a yellow blinking light that illuminates when traffic is approaching the intersection.
Selectboard member Jon Morgan asked if there was a timeline to address the intersection.
Ventura said he hopes within a year some action will be taken.
Rick Murphy, the town's emergency management director, said one avenue the town could pursue to speed up the process is to push that Route 125 is an evacuation point and state transportation route for the Seabrook nuclear power plant.
"Any type of incident that occurs in that intersection will clog up everything," Murphy said.
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What can be done now to fix intersection?
Resident Taylor Smith asked the Selectboard if there is anything the town can do to improve safety on the town-owned South Road.
"This was a senseless tragedy, and it has come to my attention that it has happened not once but many times at this intersection," Smith said. "... We don't control that intersection and I understand that. But we do control South Road."
She told the Selectboard she was one of the first responders to the accident and also lives on South Road.
While the speed limit on South Road is 30 mph, Smith said she sees drivers exceeding that limit frequently.
"My family is considering moving from South Road," Smith said. "I have three young children. I'm too scared to let them play in our yard."
Smith suggested the town install speed bumps or a flashing stop sign.
Ventura said they could look at that, but they wouldn't want to do any changes that could make it worse and impact Route 125 or the existing safety concerns. He suggested if residents want to see the state act sooner, they should contact their state representatives and state Department of Transportation and the Rockingham Planning Commission.
"Unfortunately, when you have an incident like this it brings light to it, sometimes ramps it up," said Ventura.
Ventura told the Selectboard that maybe this accident will be "the catalyst that makes a change of really bad intersection."