New Jersey Family Sues Municipality for Motorcycle Accident Death
You can't fail to see the irony of a man surviving 15 months on duty in Iraq, only to die in a New Jersey motorcycle accident barely three months after his return. On the 21st of September last year, 21-year-old Anthony LaSelva, a New Jersey Army National Guard reservist was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle on a Washington Township road. As he rounded a sharp corner, he struck a curb, and then crashed into a street light that wasn’t even lit at the time. LaSelva died from injuries sustained in the accident.
His family has now filed a lawsuit against the municipality for its failure to create safe conditions for driving on that road. The corner where the accident occurred has no warning sign posted to warn motorists or riders of the intensely sharp curve ahead, and the street lights were not functioning properly. In short, conditions were perfect for a fatal crash like the one that killed LaSelva. The lawsuit cites the "negligence" of the township for permitting "hazardous conditions" on the road, manifested by the lack of signs and non-functioning street lights. The lawsuit also mentions Atlantic City Electric, which is the company that was responsible for maintaining the street lights.
The Township has refused to admit responsibility for the accident, saying it could not be held responsible for LaSelva's death. This despite the fact that several complaints had been made by residents in the neighborhood to the authorities, regarding the malfunctioning street lights on that stretch of road. The Township had also received complaints about the sharp curve, and the lack of warning signs at the site.
If the authorities had made an effort to fix problems with the street lighting, and wake up to the possibility that a sharp curve on a poorly-lit street was fraught with dangerous possibilities, it's highly likely that LaSelva would have been alive today. As for his family, it's easy to understand their anguish. As his mother says, she thought he was safe when he finally returned from Iraq after serving 15 long months in one of the most dangerous places on earth. She probably never considered the fact that the streets in her town could be as treacherous as a war zone.
Unfortunately, all too often authorities scrimp on essential road maintenance until there is a tragic incident that calls for action. Why does a young man have to die for the municipality to wake up to the enormity of the problem? It seems like it's only when a New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer gets involved, that the people in charge are forced to sit up and take notice of the issue.
