Jeannette looks to crack down on 'very egregious' crosswalk violations near Elliott Group

Jeannette police are looking for ways to continue enforcement near Elliott Group after officers saw drivers commit 18 violations near crosswalks in a four-hour period Thursday, according to police Chief Derek Manley.

Officers watched traffic near crosswalks on Claridge-Elliott Road during morning and afternoon shift changes at the facility. They often saw drivers failing to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks.

“Some of these are very egregious,” Manley said.

Elliott officials recently shared with the city safety concerns for employees who park across the road and use a crosswalk to get to work. An employee died Dec. 21, 2021, after being hit by a vehicle while crossing Claridge-Elliott Road.

Manley said investigators determined no one was criminally liable in the crash.

After the incident, the company added signage in the area, he said. The road has a few crosswalks in the area of the Elliott Group building and signs alerting drivers to pedestrians.

Dan Wesolowski, Ebara Elliott Energy director of global environmental, health and safety, said in a statement that the company is committed to providing a safe workplace.

“We appreciate the ongoing efforts made by the City of Jeannette’s police to help keep our community safe,” he said.

In 2022, there were 3,211 crashes involving pedestrians in Pennsylvania, according to PennDOT statistics. Of those incidents, 184 were fatalities.

In 33% of the crashes and 41% of the fatalities, pedestrians were likely crossing the street at an intersection, in the middle of a block or near a driveway.

Westmoreland County has had 13 pedestrian fatalities between 2018 and 2022, according to PennDOT statistics.

Manley got a $1,000 grant through the Highway Safety Network to fund Thursday’s enforcement.

Police gave about half of the drivers warnings and cited the others.

“I do see their concern,” he said. “I’m going to do whatever steps we can to make it as safe for them as we can.”

Drivers are required to yield to anyone in a crosswalk, no matter what side of the road the pedestrian is on. Pedestrians should not walk or run unexpectedly into the path of a vehicle approaching a crosswalk and should look both ways before entering one, according to information provided by PennDOT.

“We’re going to have random enforcement going on there to try to educate the drivers that do travel that road,” Manley said.