WESTERLO — The intersection of county routes 401 and 404 in Westerlo, where a woman was killed and members of her family severely injured in late June, has been the scene of three other fatalities and 27 other accidents since 2007, state data shows.

A Freedom of Information Law request to the Department of Transportation by The Enterprise was fulfilled this week, and, when combined with additional DOT data shared with The Enterprise by Westerlo Supervisor Matthew Kryzak, the numbers back up what had been a sense among the community that the intersection is dangerous in its current state.

After the fatal accident on June 30, Albany County Public Works Commissioner Lisa Ramundo put out a statement, saying that the intersection was in line with state safety guidelines and that driver error can be difficult to account for.

According to the police accident report, the driver, traveling west on Route 404 in an SUV with five passengers, had run a stop sign at the intersection, colliding with a tractor trailer traveling north on Route 401.

Annotations within the crash data show that there is a pattern of drivers failing to yield the right of way, even in clear daylight conditions when speed and alcohol or other drugs are not noted as contributing factors.

The deadliest crash since 2007 occurred on June 25, 2008, at 12:42 p.m. in good weather, involving two vehicles and two deaths. The reason given for the crash was “traffic control devices disregarded.” 

This is typical for the dataset. Of the 28 crashes, 26 were on dry road conditions, 17 were in clear conditions (only four were in rain or snowy weather, the rest were in cloudy conditions), and 20 occurred during the daytime. 

There were 22 crashes involving more than one vehicle, and the same number of crashes were attributable to some combination of failure to yield the right of way, driver inattention, or failure to obey traffic controls; data was not included for an additional four crashes. 

The crash with the most vehicles involved — five — occurred under these most common conditions on a September afternoon in 2011 and was attributed to failure to yield right of way. 

Only one crash — occurring at 1:15 a.m. and involving one vehicle, resulting in one fatality — had speed listed as a factor. 

Albany County Public Information Officer and Policy Analyst Kevin Butterfield told The Enterprise this week that the county uses DOT’s Crash Location and Engineering Analysis Repository (CLEAR) system, a collection of crash data maintained privately by the state and shared with select stakeholders. 

The county’s department of public works, Butterfield said, “have been using the network safety module, a system that uses statistical analysis to highlight areas with potential safety concerns. 

“After reviewing this data, we’ve pinpointed several locations where simple, low-cost improvements, such as better signage or updated pavement markings, can enhance safety beyond what is already required,” he said. “The department is also working with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office to get real time intersection accident information to improve monitoring.”

Butterfield added that the county also welcomes the public to share with the county potential dangers. 

The county is currently conducting a traffic study at the intersection of routes 401 and 404, and Butterfield said that this week it will be “adding new signage and enhancing road striping” there. 

In line with a request made earlier this month by the town of Westerlo, the county is also “in the process of securing ‘Stop Ahead’ signs with flashing lights through the procurement process to install at this location,” Butterfield said. 

“Additional safety improvement measures are currently under consideration,” he said.