Eola Road and North Aurora Road is the most dangerous intersection in Aurora.
That is according to new numbers released by the Aurora Police Department for 2015.
Fourteen intersections have had more than 10 crashes this year, but Eola Road and North Aurora Road tops the list with 22 crashes.
“It’s no surprise that the intersections with the most crashes are all major thoroughfares. Just the sheer volume of traffic is going to increase the chances of being involved in a crash,” Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli said.
Insurance Agent John Gaglione with Kettley Insurance Co. in Aurora said he can think of one intersection that keeps affecting his commuting customers. Over the last several years, he’s handled more than a dozen clients involved in crashes at Indian Trail and Farnsworth Avenue.
Not surprisingly, the intersection made Aurora’s most dangerous list. With 14 crashes since Jan. 1, the intersection is tied with Eola Road and New York Street as far as accidents.
“When I go through I see the red lights and the traffic. I don’t know how others don’t,” Gaglione said. Those are the reasons, he said, he takes extra caution when he’s in the area.
When Gaglione pulls up to Indian Trail and Farnsworth Avenue, he makes sure to look both ways before he heads through the intersection.
“People get very frustrated by the number of red lights they catch,” Gaglione said. “It can get backed up and people will push it and run a yellow light.”
On March 24, police said 89-year-old Carlos Villegas was driving near Eola Road and Diehl Road when he ran a red light and crashed into a semi-tractor trailer. He was killed in the crash and his wife was injured.
The intersection has been home to 13 crashes this year, Aurora police said. The intersection also made the department’s most dangerous list.
“I don’t know if they’re texting on the phone, daydreaming or reading a book,” Gaglione said. “…But the number of accidents tell me something is wrong.”
During rush hour, Gaglione said he takes care to avoid certain problem roads, including Farnsworth Avenue, he said.
Farnsworth Avenue intersections appear twice on Aurora’s most dangerous list, at Indian Trail (14 crashes) and New York Street (12 crashes).
However, Eola Road intersections appear most often on the list. Eola Road cross-streets appear six times, at North Aurora Road, Liberty Street, New York Street, Diehl Road, Ogden Avenue and McCoy Drive, due to the number of crashes.
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Last year, after seeing three crashes in one week at Eola Road and McCoy Drive, Aurora resident Felice Jernstad started keeping her own tally.
“I thought, ‘This is getting ridiculous,'” she said.
There have been 10 crashes this year at the intersection, which has Jernstad driving on the defensive.
“I’d say any time I’m on Eola Road I’m careful,” she said. “Accidents happen there all the time.”
Ferrelli said special patrols and heightened enforcement are being conducted not only at the most dangerous intersections, but along the most highly-traveled roads regardless of the number of accidents.
“We stage regular details targeting distracted driving,” Ferrelli said. The behavior being targeted by police includes illegal cell phone use, following too closely and abrupt lane changes.
The police department also works closely with city traffic engineers to address any issues that may be due to the design or other specifics of the roadways and intersections, he said.
There’s plenty drivers can do on their own to help avoid causing or falling victim to a traffic crash, he said.
“Drive defensively. Pay attention. Don’t speed. Put the cell phones down,” Ferrelli said.
He reminded drivers to allow themselves enough time to get to where they’re going.
“Remember that vehicles can be multi-ton missiles that will maim and injure if they’re misused,” he said.
Most dangerous intersections in Aurora
These intersection have had the most accidents in Aurora in 2015:
1. Eola Road and North Aurora Road: 22
2. Liberty Street and Route 59: 21
3. Frontenac Street and Route 34: 18
4. Indian Trail and Lake Street; Eola Road and Liberty Street: 16
5. Galena Boulevard and Orchard Road: 15
6. Farnsworth Avenue and Indian Trail; Eola Road and New York Street: 14
7: Ogden Avenue and Route 59; Diehl Road and Eola Road; Eola Road and Ogden Avenue: 13
8. Farnsworth Avenue and New York Street: 12
9. New York Street and Ohio Street; Eola Road and McCoy Drive: 10