Death on a troubled road

Nassau County Police received a call for a pedestrian hit on Austin Blvd. in Island Park about 8:30 the morning of Oct. 31.

The driver of a rental car was heading southbound when he hit 70-year-old Jan Kalas of Northport as he was walking across Austin Blvd. on Marina Path, east, toward the train station. The victim was struck by a 74-year-old driver of a rented 2014 Honda Civic. Kalas was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver stayed at the scene.

Eyewitness Benjamin Rakoczy who works at Anthony’s Trendz Barbershop, 4540 Austin Blvd., said he was helping another employee find a parking space when he heard tire squeal and a loud ‘boom’. He called to a driver in another car and told him to call 911.

The driver of the car had a green light, Rakoczy said, “But he was movin,” he added. The car had a blinker on, Rakoczy said.

The victim had stopped in the middle of Austin Blvd., and looked both ways and began to cross when he was hit.

The police gave the driver a Breathalyzer test, Rakoczy added. “And there is a traffic camera near the intersection.”

The investigation is continuing.

Island Park residents have been trying to make safety changes to Austin Blvd. for over 30 years. More than one person dies every year, on average, on the stretch of Austin Blvd. that runs through Island Park according to Nassau County Police.

Some small changes have been implemented; no left turns across three lanes of traffic where there are no traffic lights and longer “walk” cycles for traffic lights.

Legislator Denise Ford, saying it was tragic, explained that the proposed reconstruction of Austin Blvd. has been put off until the bridges that cross Long Beach Road, just north of Austin Blvd. are replaced. Work on those bridges began in October and will take two years. The “bump outs” are supposed to be built the length of Austin Blvd, a median painted into place, and one side reduced to two lanes, all efforts to slow traffic.