Students reportedly seek lower speed limit along deadly roadway

Antwan L. Timbers Jr., 17, was struck by a suspected drunk-driver.

BURLINGTON CITY -- Route 130, which has been named in years past as one of New Jersey's most dangerous highways, runs between two city schools. It was also the scene of a deadly pedestrian accident this summer that left a Burlington City High School student dead.

On Thursday morning, high schoolers and law enforcement implored passing motorists to slow down to 25 miles per hour along the stretch that the Wilbur Watts Intermediate School is also located along.

According to CBS3, high school Principal Jim Flynn said students must cross the busy road multiple times a day and at different locations. He could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

According to Tri-State Transportation Campaign data from earlier this year, 11 pedestrians walking along Route 130 have been struck and killed by a vehicle between 2012 and 2014. However, as the roadway runs through four counties, that total jumps to 14 for the same time period when deaths in Burlington, Camden, Mercer and Middlesex counties are compiled.

City pulls together after student's death

Mayor Barry Conaway said that speed limit is 25 miles per hour when children are present and supports making that the speed limit at all times, according to the report. Burlington City police could not immediately be reached for comment regarding such a move.

According to the Burlington County Times, the school district has partnered with the New Jersey Department of Highway Traffic Safety and compile additional data to support the change.

According to 2014 statistics from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the stretch of Route 130 from New Albany Road to Rancocas Creek, between Delran and Delanco, was the scene of 143 motor vehicle crashes that year.

Antwan L. Timbers Jr., 17, who was a sophomore and ROTC member at Burlington City High School, died at the scene of the May 22 crash on Route 130 near East Federal Street. Ricardo J. Patterson III was charged with reckless driving and DUI following the collision, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.