Anne Arundel County family calls for road safety changes after fatal crash on Ritchie Highway
An Anne Arundel County family is calling on the county to make changes at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and 4th Avenue after a 28-year-old was killed in Brooklyn last week.
Family and friends say the victim of that crash, Alex Dannett, was one of a kind.
"He always had a positive attitude, [was] a hard worker. He was a fire protection engineer, so he was successful; he liked to travel the world," Sophia Ratliff, Dannett's mother, said.
"They would tease him because he would always make sure his teeth were nice and white. He just put a smile on everybody's face," James Ratliff, Dannett's grandfather, said.
On Friday, friends, family, and coworkers from Reliance Fire Protection gathered by the intersection of Ritchie Highway and 4th Avenue to honor and remember Dannett where he lost his life.
"He was coming up at the intersection here; I believe there was a really heavy downpour. The car probably hydroplaned at that point. The problem is there's no drainage inlet on the street that intersects with the main street here, so the water just ponds on the street," Ratliff said.
Similar accidents have taken place at the Brooklyn intersection in the past.
"Two and a half years ago, the same thing happened literally right here. Another young gentleman lost his life because he was speeding and crashed into a tree, so it's one of those things that is ongoing," Matthew Haslacker said, an employee at nearby Spencer's Liquor Store.
He says when he heard the impact last Friday night, he immediately knew it was bad.
"I thought it was a tractor-trailer making the sound that it does when it's full, and I thought it was that until I saw the police lights and sirens and all that," Haslacker said.
In the last several years, there have been two fatal crashes, a fatal pedestrian crash, and two other serious accidents on that same stretch of Ritchie Highway.
"I really think there needs to be a light...There's a light up there on 11th, but there is nothing down here," Haslacker said.
Dannett's family hopes his death can help inspire that change and carry on his legacy of serving the community.
"His profession was being in safety and in prevention. So this would mean a lot if we could get something done to prevent this from happening again," Nichole Fitchett, Dannett's aunt, said.
Dannett's family says they plan to speak with local and state leaders to see what can be done to make the road safer so another family doesn't have to go through the pain they are feeling ever again.