YORKTOWN – Days before Thanksgiving, State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblyman Matt Slater joined officials from Yorktown and dedicated a portion of Route 118 near the Putnam-Westchester line in honor of Jake Arcara, a 28-year-old Yorktown highway department employee who lost his life after being struck by a vehicle in a work zone three years ago.
The lawmakers’ bill, recently signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, named the road as the “Jake Arcara Worker’s Memorial Highway.”
Slater, accompanied by highway superintendents from each county, spoke to the Assembly on Thursday to pay tribute to and honor Arcara.
Work Zone Awareness Week serves as a reminder to recognize the people who put themselves in harm’s way every day to keep our roads moving and infrastructure safe. In New York State 450 work zone intrusions occurred last year resulting in more than 150 injuries and four fatalities.
Slater said: “These are not just numbers. These are lives upended, families transformed permanently, and communities left to mourn their losses. And for me, this hits especially close to home because of the death of Jake Arcara. His passing sorrowfully illustrates that every statistic stands for an individual, a loved one, and a life cut short before its time.”
Slater added: “The overwhelming majority of these incidents are preventable. Driving at high speeds, failing to pay attention, or neglecting to slow down or yield when appropriate are common causes of these incidents. No one should lose their life doing their job on the side of the road, and no family should have to endure the kind of loss that Jake Arcara’s family has experienced.”
Carmel Highway Superintendent Mike Stern called Arcara’s loss an “absolute tragedy and a wake-up call for all road workers. We need to ensure the safety of our workers by taking all necessary precautions, and we should actively promote awareness for those working in our job sites. Safety is no Accident.”
Kent Highway Superintendent Richard Othmer had advice for the motoring public: “Please get off your phones, quit texting, and lower the music while you are driving!”
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