One concern Brodheadsville parents have about their children, no matter how old kids are, is road safety. Parents start out by warning children about playing too close to a road or crossing a street and later progress to advice about driving. Parents understand what young children and some adults don’t – terrible car accidents happen.

A Penn State University engineering student was killed recently while crossing a State College street. The 23-year-old Wexford native was the third person to die at the same intersection since last summer. The car accident victim was rushed to a local medical facility and flown to a Danville hospital, where he died.

Police investigators said the student was struck while crossing the street late at night. The 27-year-old driver, a State College resident, apparently slammed on his brakes at the moment of impact. There was no indication the driver or pedestrian was under the influence, although standard-procedure toxicology tests were performed. A fault determination will be made after the investigation is completed.

A jogger was the first of three victims fatally injured at the intersection since July 2014. An 18-year-old student, a Penn State freshman, was killed by a pickup truck. The female pedestrian had been crossing against a traffic signal in an area without a crosswalk.

The second death in June involved a victim on a scooter, a 39-year-old man hit by a left-turning car. Authorities faulted the scooter operator for failing to stop at a red signal. Police patrols were stepped up in the area a month after the second fatality, even as local officials and residents began debating how to make traffic safety improvements at the intersection.

Civil courts determine what parties are liable for accident-related personal injuries and deaths. A Pennsylvania plaintiff may receive compensation when blame is shared, as long as the defendant’s percentage of fault is greater than the victim’s.

Source: Centre Daily TImes, “Penn State student killed in North Atherton Street pedestrian crash,” Shawn Annarelli, Sep. 08, 2015