Sayre Borough: Mayor urges caution for motorists, pedestrians

Words of wisdom from Sayre, Pennsylvania Mayor Denny Thomas.

A serious car-versus-pedestrian accident that occurred on South Wilbur Avenue near the Guthrie campus last Thursday has resulted in Borough Mayor Denny Thomas urging motorists and pedestrians to use more caution when traveling down or crossing the street.

The individual who was struck last week, Kathleen Burnett of Waverly, is currently listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Robert Packer Hospital.  Borough Police Chief Kevin Guinane labeled the incident as an “accident” during Monday’s meeting of the municipality’s police committee. No additional information regarding last week’s accident has been released by the Sayre Borough Police Department.

There are approximately 10,000 vehicles that travel through the Borough of Sayre every day, said Thomas.  While Wilbur Avenue near the Guthrie campus has been a safety issue in the past, Guthrie officials have installed flashing yellow lights in an effort to help make that stretch of roadway safer, said Thomas.

In addition, the borough purchased “pedestrian crossing” signs that are placed in the crosswalks in the area in an effort to increase safety in that area, he noted.
Both motorists and pedestrians still need to exercise caution when traveling down or crossing any street, said Thomas.

“I’ve seen people drive their cars (while) on their cell phones,” he said. “Then you also see people coming across the ... crosswalks with headsets on, listening to music or whatever. People have to be more vigilant all the way around.”

The road in front of the old Robert Packer Hospital is dangerous.  There is so much traffic coming from/to the Guthrie campus, as well as pedestrians coming/going from the hospital to their parked cars and to downtown Sayre, that it creates a situation where walkers are likely to get hit.  Even though the article stated that no one was at fault, all it takes is a driver being inattentive for a split second to cause an accident like this.

To see the full article from The Morning Times, click here.