Loved ones seek traffic safety measures following soldier’s death

Posted 8/20/13

About six months after returning home from a nine-month tour of Afghanistan, Specialist Joel Constantineau of the Army National Guard was struck and killed by a motorist on Main Avenue while riding …

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Loved ones seek traffic safety measures following soldier’s death

Posted

About six months after returning home from a nine-month tour of Afghanistan, Specialist Joel Constantineau of the Army National Guard was struck and killed by a motorist on Main Avenue while riding his motorcycle to school the morning of May 21. He was 27 years old.

“He was just full of life,” said his mother, Maryanne Constantineau. “He loved his family and friends so much and made everyone that he loved feel that. He was generous, happy [and] a well-loved guy.”

According to a report filed by the Warwick Police Department, Constantineau was traveling west on Main Avenue while a truck exiting Shell gas station at 708 Greenwich Avenue going northbound attempted to cross four lanes of traffic to Covington Drive when the crash occurred. The driver was not injured. Speeding and alcohol were not factors, but the WPD cited the driver for entering from a private driveway, plus eluding a traffic signal.

While Maryanne said she and her husband, Bill, are not angry at the driver, they would like to see traffic improvements made to the area. Their oldest son was also in an accident at the same intersection 10 years ago.

“He was in a vehicle and traveling down Main Avenue the same way Joel was when a car cut through the Shell parking lot and rammed into the side of his car,” said Maryanne. “He was OK, but I’ve spoken to so many people who either have been involved in an accident there or know someone who has been involved.”

Renee Frechette, Constantineau’s girlfriend of nearly four years, said an accident took place in the exact spot five hours after the tragic collision.

Soon after his death, Constantineau’s loved ones contacted staff members at Governor Lincoln Chafee’s office in hopes of having the site changed to prevent further accidents. Chafee’s staff advised them to write to the governor. In addition to a letter to the governor, they promptly launched an e-mail campaign, encouraging others via Facebook to compose letters. Chafee’s office connected with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to evaluate the location.

In an e-mail to a Warwick Beacon reporter, RIDOT spokesperson Rose Amoros said RIDOT initiated a road safety audit of the area based on the concerns. Safety enhancements are being explored, and any proposed modifications would first be discussed with the community and surrounding businesses before being implemented.

She said RIDOT, along with the WPD, the local Department of Public Works and RIDOT’s engineering consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., conducted a road safety assessment at the intersection in late June.

Chafee’s staff member, Ryan Crowley, recently sent a letter to the Constantineaus stating that possible improvements include “extending the existing raised median beyond Covington Drive, restricting the through crossing movement. This [concrete] median will have a break to allow left turns into Shell’s western driveway. This will aid in eliminating cross movement of vehicles at Covington.”

Crowley wrote that RIDOT would contact Shell to determine the feasibility of striping a no parking zone on their property in front of Main Avenue to improve sight distance at the driveway.

“RIDOT has not yet presented a timeframe for this project but will keep the Governor’s Office informed of any time estimate that may develop,” wrote Crowley.

Additionally, Amoros noted that Main Avenue, a state road also known as Route 113, has an average daily traffic volume of 21,200 vehicles. The intersecting road, Greenwich Avenue, or Route 5, has an average daily traffic volume of 9,200 vehicles.

From 2007 to 2013, there were 29 crashes at the intersection of Main Avenue and Covington Drive. One involved a fatality.

Amoros said that the frequency of crashes at Main Avenue and Covington Drive is not unusual for an intersection of this size and traffic volume.

“Per federal regulations, we compile an annual list of high-risk intersections that are ranked based on the number and severity of the crashes,” she said. “This intersection is not identified on the list.”

Constantineau’s family and friends want the traffic median extended, making the exit from the gas station a right-turn only.

“It’s such an easy fix to me,” Maryanne said. “We just want to do the right thing.”

Bill added, “If extending that island could save one person’s life, it’s all worth it.”

Frechette feels the same, as does Constantineau’s friend Lauren DelSesto. She and Constantineau had been close since meeting at Gorton Junior High.

“This is someone who served his country,” DelSesto said. “They should at least pay some respect and prevent more accidents from happening. It’s something that’s so simple.”

While Lt. Michael Gilbert of the WPD’s Traffic Division and Community Services Platform agrees it’s a dangerous intersection, he said it’s not that easy. He’s been present during RIDOT evaluations.

“I’m very sensitive to the fact that the family wants to make it safer,” Gilbert said. “But if the median is extended, as a result I guarantee there would be additional accidents at the other intersections. It’s like plugging a hole in a dam – you put your finger in one hole and then three others pop up. There’s not one simple silver bullet to solve this problem.”

Gilbert also pointed out that improved signage to prevent left turns out of the gas station wouldn’t have made a difference in this situation, as the motorist wasn’t attempting to make a left turn. Rather, the vehicle was crossing Main Avenue onto Covington Drive.

“That would make it a little bit safer, but it wouldn’t fix the underlying cause for this accident,” he said.

Aside from Constantineau’s family, as well as Frechette and DelSesto, some of his friends, including Evan Eidam, Aubrie Blanchette and Bryan Buckley, also hope to see changes made to the traffic law. They said Constantineau, a graduate of Veterans Memorial High who was pursuing a degree in nutrition at the Community College of Rhode Island, was working on becoming a certified personal trainer and about to be sworn in as an Elk by the Elks Lodge on West Shore Road.

“With him, there was no clique,” Eidam said. “He got along with everyone.”

Blanchette added, “People just gravitated towards him.”

He was also the life of every party, DelSesto said, further noting that he often interjected if someone was being bullied or treated unfairly.

Buckley recalled Constantineau’s “lust for life” and his ability to make people smile. His laugh was also special.

“His laugh could fill the void on your saddest day and bring you back to reality with a single quip,” said Buckley, who befriended Constantineau during their days at Oakland Beach Elementary School. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him and have a good laugh thinking about our friendship.”

To honor their loyal, helpful and outspoken friend, who was enthusiastic about serving the country, as he reenlisted for another seven years and was Airborne qualified, they are thinking about planning a fundraiser to create an “Adopt-A-Spot memorial in the area.

“But it’s not the first thing we think of when we decided we wanted to fight to get the median extended,” Maryanne said. “Our whole goal is to prevent someone else from having to go through this. We want to stop accidents from happening. That’s our crusade.”

Comments

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  • davebarry109

    Here we go again...'If it saves one life it is worth it'. That statement has launched thousands of rules and regulations that makes no ones life any better. My condolences to the family but not every death means we have to change something.

    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Report this

  • Amanda7415

    Im sure if it was your life, or your child's or your spouse's or YOUR friend's, you'd be singing a different tune. Clearly you dont get out much bc if you did you'd know how dangerous the left turn out of this intersection is. Joel died senselessly and served our country to protect YOUR rights, the least we can do is what shouldve been done years ago and prevent the idiocy of allowing someone to cross 4 lanes of traffic at intersection that has 20k people commuting through it each day. Everyone worked very hard to organize this for our loved one and alittle sensitivity to our loss wouldve been nice. Constructive comments only wouldve been appropriate.

    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Report this

  • RDanna

    @davebarry You must be out of your mind to post something like "here we go again"

    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Report this

  • RDanna

    Joel was loved by so many, and to have his life cut so short by such an unfortunate accident, is horrible. People have been working day in and day out to try to get this project rolling. What difference does it make to you if the traffic pattern changes? Why do you feel the need to post on this article and have such a cavalier attitude towards the while thing? Your post not only offends me and everyone else who knew Joel, it also disgusts me.

    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Report this

  • Calvin0315

    My condolences to Joel's family and friends. I live in the neighborhood off Covington, and I think of Joel and say a prayer for him every time I walk by that intersection. It's terribly dangerous. Part of the issue is the volume of cars on Main Ave and another part is the high rate of speed at which they travel - definitely not at the speed limit. According to the article "possible improvements include “extending the existing raised median beyond Covington Drive, restricting the through crossing movement. This [concrete] median will have a break to allow left turns into Shell’s western driveway. This will aid in eliminating cross movement of vehicles at Covington.” This will also restrict the drivers coming out of Covington from taking a left hand turn onto Main. My concern with this suggested median is that instead of people going "right only" when leaving Covington onto Main, they will cut through the nearby parking lot to take their left - and cars coming from the direction of the Shell station will take a left into the parking lot next to Covington to cut into the neighborhood. This will only move the problem up a few hundred feet. The article also says that RIDOT will seek the opinion of the community - how will they being doing that? I'd like to voice my opinion - not to challenge what Joel's family is suggesting - but to provide some input from those that live in the neighborhood. I definitely think improvements could be made that work for us all.

    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Report this

  • davebarry109

    I have successfully cut across from the Shell onto Covington and from Covington to the Shell and have made the left turn hundreds of times. Accidents happen. Again, my deepest regrets to the family but not being able to turn left out of Covington and not being able to cut from the Shell to Covington is not called for.

    Thursday, August 22, 2013 Report this

  • patientman

    Its an easy fix. Make it a left turn only exit. Any driver wanting to go east on Main can exit out the west side of the station onto Greenwhich. Any body wanting to go onto covington can do the same and take a right onto main and a left onto covington. Taking a right out of the shell during heavy traffic is obnoxious, and in this case a lazy man killed somebody because he wanted to save 30 seconds.

    Thursday, August 22, 2013 Report this

  • patientman

    Oops, make it a right turn only exit. Sorry

    Tuesday, August 27, 2013 Report this