Burlington County’s 46 traffic deaths last year were most in NJ

A stretcher is prepared at the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident on Route 206 in Southampton on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Two people were killed, and one person was injured.

Burlington County was home to the deadliest roads in New Jersey last year, according to statistics compiled by the New Jersey State Police.

A total of 46 people died in 41 accidents on roads and highways in the county, up from 31 people killed in 2014.

The total was one more than Monmouth County’s 45 deaths. Middlesex County had the next highest tally with 41, followed by Ocean County’s 38.

Warren County had the fewest deaths, with seven.

Statewide, 547 people died in traffic accidents last year, up from 543 in 2014.

According to the state police records, 14 of the county’s 41 fatal accidents occurred on state highways, 14 occurred on county highways and six occurred on local roads. Another four happened on the county’s stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike, and three happened on the county’s stretch of Interstate 295.

The deadliest road in the county last year was again Route 130, with eight deaths: two each in Cinnaminson, Edgewater Park and Delran, and one each in Burlington City and Burlington Township.

The two deaths in Edgewater Park involved pedestrians who were struck while trying to cross the highway, which has been labeled by nonprofit advocacy group Tri-State Transporation Campaign as New Jersey’s most dangerous road for walkers in each of the last five years, based on its high death toll.

The most recent designation was based on the nine deaths that occurred on the county’s stretch of the notorious highway between 2011 and 2013. Four pedestrians died on the highway in 2014.

Eleven pedestrians died in accidents across the county last year, according to state police statistics.

Twenty-three of the deaths involved drivers, 11 involved passengers in motor vehicles, and one involved a bicyclist.

The bicyclist — Eileen Marmino, 34, of Medford — was killed in July after she was hit by a vehicle on Church Road. Marmino was a special education teacher at Burlington City High School.

Five traffic accidents in the county last year resulted in multiple fatalities, including an August accident on Buddtown Road in Southampton that claimed the life of an 18-year-old girl and her 2-year-old brother.

Jairisa Galindo was pulling a wagon carrying Jyonshiel Martinez and their 6-year-old brother, Kahariel Martinez, when they were struck by a vehicle. Another boy, John Giles, who was walking next to them, also was hit.

Galindo and Jyonshiel died from their injuries. No charges were filed against the driver of the vehicle.

Southampton was also the site of three other fatal accidents: An Aug. 2 accident claimed the life of Janiya Castleberry, 13, of Pemberton Township; an Aug. 27 accident resulted in the death of Allison McGinnis, 29, of Southampton, and David Eldridge, 21, of Wrightstown; and a Dec. 1 collision resulted in the deaths of Michael Razzano, 49, of Pemberton Township, and Sean McNaughton, 41, of Medford.

Janiya was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed at Newbolds Corner and Smithville roads.

McGinnis, who was a teacher at the Helen Fort/Newcomb Middle School where Janiya attended school, was jogging along Route 206 when she was struck by a pickup truck driven by Patrick Miller, 28, of New Hanover. Eldridge was a passenger in the truck.

Miller was charged with several traffic offenses, including possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office is still reviewing the accident to determine if criminal charges are warranted.

Razzano and McNaughton were in a vehicle that collided with a Lenape Regional High School District bus transporting the Lenape High School swim team to a meet at Rowan College at Burlington County in Pemberton Township. Eight students and one adult on the bus suffered minor injuries.

The four traffic fatalities in Southampton were the second most among Burlington County’s 40 towns, behind Mount Laurel with five deaths, according to state police statistics.

Burlington County traffic fatalities

Traffic fatalities

2015: 46

2014: 31

2011: 52

2010: 35

2009: 48

2008: 45

2007: 54

2006: 46

2005: 44

2003: 51

2002: 66

2001: 57

2000: 46

Where the accidents occurred:

Interstate 295: 3

NJ Turnpike: 4

State highways: 14

County highways: 14

local roads: 6

Source: NJ State Police

Originally published here by the Burlington County Times

For additional New Jersey Traffic Accident statistics check out this infographic.