Teen’s family pushes for bus stop ordinance

Sayreville officials plan to address Main St. ‘traffic hell’

By JENNIFERMICALE

Sayreville officials may call it "Jolene’s Law," after a young woman who tragically lost her life on the way to a school bus stop.

On the morning of April 13, 15-year-old Jolene Devlin left her Main Street home to head to school. When crossing the roadway near Stacey Avenue to reach her bus stop, she was struck by a 1989 Pontiac driven by Paul Muller, 49, of Boehmhurst Avenue. Devlin died three days later as a result of her injuries.

Unfortunately, Jolene wasn’t the first child to lose her life on the busy street — but borough officials hope that she will be the last.

Calling that section of Main Street a "traffic hell," Mayor Kennedy O’Brien called for an ordinance preventing schoolchildren from crossing the street on the way to bus stops. Rather, buses between MacArthur Avenue and Main Street Extension will pick up all schoolchildren, from kindergarten through 12th grade, on the same side of the street. O’Brien and Borough Council members hope to introduce the ordinance at a council meeting two weeks from now.

"Everyone I talked to at the wake had horror stories of children dealing with Main Street," O’Brien said at Monday’s agenda meeting, attended by Jolene’s mother, Maureen Devlin; her aunt, Susan Plumacker; and uncle John Guild. "We as a governing body have to be proactive," O’Brien said.

According to Jolene’s relatives, the move is sorely needed. Plumacker told of another incident 15 years ago which claimed the life of a 6-year-old girl as she crossed in front of her school bus. While her death led to gates in front of the buses as they stop, they didn’t address the overall problem: children crossing the roadway in the first place, she said.

Maureen Devlin had attempted to address the problem last fall, calling the bus company regarding the hazardous stop. She said that the bus company gave her the cold shoulder, telling her to "quit work and stay home" with her child if she was so concerned. With this in mind, Councilman Ray Skarzynski said he was "appalled" over the lack of response on the bus company’s part.

According to Jolene’s family, dangerous driving practices have not yet ceased in the neighborhood. On Monday, there was another close call as a child crossed Main Street. A car continued through a red traffic light, Plumacker recalled, adding that she heard "screeching rubber" and screams.

"These are bullets out there these children are facing," she asserted.

A Main Street resident, Plumacker herself witnessed the accident that claimed her niece’s life. Rather than stepping off the curb, Jolene had been in the middle of the roadway, near the double line when she was struck by the driver’s left side. The impact threw her sneakers in different directions and scattered the contents of her purse, Plumacker said.

Police believe that sun glare may have played a factor in the accident, which occurred on a bright, clear morning as the driver traveled east. Jolene’s aunt agreed that sun glare was a significant problem on the road, but added that drivers should go more slowly when they cannot see.

While officials anticipate the ordinance itself will take effect before the end of the school year, they also plan to address the problem immediately. Borough officials plan to contact the Board of Education about the matter, and have instructed the police department to start extra patrols in the area to deter aggressive drivers.

"It should be as soon as possible so it doesn’t happen to anybody else’s child," Devlin said.