An 86-year-old woman died Thursday afternoon after the car she was riding in collided with a log truck at the intersection of NC 54 and West Main Street in Carrboro, a crossing that regional planners had already flagged as operating at the worst possible traffic grade. Rita Slotnick was pinned inside the vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency crews before she succumbed to her injuries.
According to The Daily Tar Heel, Slotnick’s husband was the second occupant of the passenger vehicle and suffered serious injuries in the crash. Orange County EMS transported him to UNC Hospitals, where Carrboro Police Department Sgt. Chris Atack said he remained hospitalized for treatment. The driver of the log truck was not injured, per the same report, and the identity of the passenger vehicle’s driver had not been disclosed.
Carrboro Fire-Rescue worked to free Slotnick from the wreckage, an extrication that Chapelboro.com reported took place around 1:16 p.m. The crash shut down both eastbound lanes of NC 54 and restricted westbound traffic, generating significant backups through the area. Carrboro police said the investigation was ongoing as of June 14, 2018, with officers reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses; no charges had been filed at that point, and Atack said the department expected to finish its work by Friday.
A Dangerous Curve on a Congested Corridor
Atack noted that NC 54 curves at the West Main Street intersection in a way that can create a safety issue, according to the Daily Tar Heel’s account. The posted speed limit there is 45 miles per hour. Atack also said the police department would follow up with the town and the North Carolina Department of Transportation about safety at the intersection, and that the department had already made efforts to address the crossing’s risks…