Resident questions safety of intersection
A recent accident that took the life of a motorcyclist has one Highlands Ranch mother wondering how safe the intersection is near her house.
Cathryn Ocken, who has lived off of Edgewood Trail and Edgewood Lane, near the intersection of Mountain Brush Circle and Quebec Street, for the past two years, said she and her 4-year-old daughter,
Jacqueline, were driving home from an appointment around 2:15 p.m. May 1 and witnessed the aftermath of a horrible accident.
According to Deputy
Cocha Heyden, Douglas County Sheriff's Office public information officer, deputies responded to the intersection of Quebec Street and Ashburn Lane (which is Mountain Brush Circle on the east side of the street) in Highlands Ranch on a report of an accident with injuries involving a truck and a motorcycle.
Heyden said the driver of the motorcycle, 57-year-old
John Pratt, of Highlands Ranch, was pronounced dead at the scene. Heyden said the cause of death was determined to be multiple head and internal injuries.
Ocken said she and her daughter were on scene before an ambulance or deputies had arrived, but other people were stopped and attempting to administer CPR to Pratt.
"My daughter and I were completely traumatized by this event," Ocken said. "His leg was severed and his motorcycle looked like scrap metal. It was very traumatic-- we lost sleep over it. My daughter saw the whole thing."
According to Heyden, the driver of the truck,
Aaron Eurton, 32, of Boulder, later was issued a summons for careless driving resulting in death. Eurton is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. May 29.
Investigators determined Eurton entered the intersection of Quebec Street and Ashburn Lane at a normal speed in an attempt to go northbound on Quebec.
Heyden said the sheriff's office believes a car in the southbound turn lane on Quebec Street was turning right onto Ashburn at the same time and that Eurton did not see the motorcycle going southbound on Quebec.
She said there is no indication of either the truck or the motorcycle traveling over the posted speed limit.
Ocken says that this portion of Quebec Street has terriblevisibility. The speed limit is 45 mph on this part of Quebec, but Ocken said cars regularly speed 55 to 65 mph, and there is no crosswalk or stoplight at this intersection.
She also cited a hit-and-run accident that took the life of 11-year-old
Timothy Sowders at the intersection of Quebec Street and Collegiate Drive on May 24, 2004.
"We can't cross Quebec at Chestnut Hill without a crosswalk," Ocken said. "It's just mortifying to me. It's just treacherous to even go across to the park."
Lori Motes, who also lives near Quebec Street and Mountain Brush Circle, said she doesn't necessarily think the intersection is dangerous; she says the problem is motorists speeding.
"Cars go traveling down Quebec pretty fast," Motes said.
Heyden said she doesn't believe the intersection of Quebec Street and Mountain Brush Circle isany more or less dangerous than any other larger, uncontrolled intersection in Highlands Ranch. According to DCSO's 2007 first quarter statistics, the highest-ranked accident locations in Highlands Ranch are University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway and Quebec Street and Business Center Drive-- which are controlled intersections-- both with eight accidents a piece.
"We would strongly encourage that citizens go back to the basics of drivers education," Heyden said. "Remember all the things that you are supposed to do and just do them. No one should ever be in such a hurry as to put themselves or others at risk when it comes to their driving habits or actions."
Click here to read Cathryn Ocken's letter to Highlands Ranch motorists.
YourHub.com invites family members and friends to share their memories, stories, thoughts and prayers of John Pratt on YourHub.com. Click hereto post your stories, or contact Steve Shultz at 303-954-2617 or via e-mail at shultzs@YourHub.com.
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