Toddler injured in crash on Route 51
Route 51. The Econo Lodge is in the bottom right of the picture.
On June 22, Shawnae Galberth was staying at the Econo Lodge on Route 51 in Jefferson Hills with her three children. When her two- and three-year-olds fell asleep, she and her third child walked to a convenience store to get food for the next day. While they were out, the two- and three-year-olds woke up, left their room, and began to walk along Route 51, where the three-year-old was struck by a driver. Reports did not mention whether the driver is facing any charges, but Galberth was taken into custody and, as of this writing, is awaiting trial in the Allegheny County Jail, while the injured child was taken to Children’s Hospital. All three children are currently under the care of the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families.
Route 51 is the most dangerous road for pedestrians in Greater Pittsburgh. It is five lanes and the posted speed limit is 40 miles per hour, but to quote a source used in one of the stories on this crash, “The speed limit is 40, people go 80 on it.” The road is not grade-separated and has no sidewalks. It is maintained by PennDOT District 11.
As far as who is responsible, it should be said that the three-year-old is not at fault. They’re three. And since the driver doesn’t appear to be charged with anything, that would suggest they are not being held responsible either. Galbreth may have made a poor decision in leaving her children alone at the hotel, but I hesitate to criticize a single mother traveling with three kids staying at a low-cost hotel in the suburbs who doesn’t seem to have a car available to them. Was she supposed to drag her two tired toddlers along the same dangerous road to the convenience store with her? I would not blame her for thinking that the hotel room was the safest place for them, and I question whether having these children separated from their mother at this time is in their best interest.
Like many major roads, Route 51 appears to be designed with the assumption that the only users of the road will be in cars, yet it still provides access to services like a local road would and doesn’t segregate road users like a limited access highway does. This creates the worst of both worlds when pedestrians or cyclists do have to use the road, which has resulted in injury and death on this road again and again. If we are to follow the recommendations of the Institute for Road Safety Research, then the speed limit either needs to be brought down to 20 miles per hour (and that speed maintained through a combination of design and enforcement), or we need to remove pedestrian conflicts by providing a safe sidewalk or separated trail.
Route 51 is owned by PennDOT, who will only consider changes to a road when they receive a request from the municipality in writing. To talk to the Borough about making such a request, contact Mayor Carrie McCaffrey at cmccaffrey@jeffersonhills.net, and/or Council President Melissa Steffey at msteffey@jeffersonhills.net.