On Monday morning (May 16, 2022) at 9am, a parent was waiting at a crosswalk to walk their child across Wolcott Avenue towards Main Street when a large industrial truck that was teal in color with a round carriage that allegedly said EarhCare on the cab, drove past the pedestrians through the crosswalk without stopping. The crosswalk is a regular crosswalk with an added yellow sign and yellow flashing lights for extra visibility. There is a button to activate the flashing lights that the child did press. This crosswalk is not at a traffic light at an intersection. It is in the middle of the road, closer to Rose Hill Day Care. The flashing lights do not need to flash in order to give the pedestrian the right of way.

When asked if the flashing lights matter for a car to stop or not at a crosswalk in the middle of the road, a Beacon Police Officer who answered the desk phone that takes public inquiries stated: “If there is a pedestrian in the crosswalk in your lane, you should yield to them.”

After the truck passed them, the parent raised their arm and flipped off the driver of the truck. Seeing the gesture and looking at the parent in the eye, the truck driver, who was described as a white male, slammed on the breaks, bringing the truck to a screeching halt through and past the crosswalk. The tire tracks can be seen in these pictures. Once the truck stopped, the parent said: “You should have stopped before the crosswalk!”

According to the parent, it looked like the driver was getting ready to exit his vehicle. Said the parent: “I was on the west side of the street on the sidewalk. I started walking toward the truck when he looked like he was aggressively getting out.”

When ALBB asked if the driver may have been quickly stopping for a squirrel or deer, the parent replied: “Absolutely not. And if he didn’t stop for the human child, do you think he was going to stop for a squirrel? He was looking at me in the face when he stopped”

The truck was headed in the direction of Beacon’s Transfer Station and Wastewater Treatment Plant. EarthCare is a wastewater management company contracted with the City of Beacon. A likeness photo of EarthCare’s truck that the parent saw - not necessarily the truck that screeched to a halt - is shown here in this article. The photo was taken Monday, May 16, 2022 at Beacon’s Transfer Station where the Wastewater Treatment Plant is.

Update 5/20/2022: The morning after ALBB sent a Contact Us form to EarthCare seeking confirmation and comment about the driving incident, a representative from EarthCare named Dave called at 9am to get more details and offered to pull driving records. ALBB returned his call at 9:30am, but never heard back. ALBB placed a second followup call the following day, and has not heard back.