NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A pedestrian was struck and killed around midnight last night in a hit-and-run at the intersection of Route 18 and George Street, right next to the Rutgers Douglass campus.

The 41-year-old victim, Alvaro Ortega Santiago, was taken to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, but pronounced dead.  The local lanes of 18 were closed near the intersection for a few hours while police investigated the crime scene.

According to a report on NJ.com, the vehicle that killed Santiago was dark blue in color.

This intersection, which links the pedestrian walkway along Route 18 and Rutgers’ Douglass campus, is the same spot where cyclist Chelsea Traynor was killed by a driver in 2010.  So far, according to our records, at least five people have been hit at this intersection in the past nine years. 

Despite there being a traffic light in place, mixing high speed traffic and a paint-on-the-street crosswalk can be a fatal combination. 

In these local lanes – as well as most places – motorists habitually drive faster than the 45 m.p.h. speed limit and have a tendency to try to beat the yellow light before it turns red.  They also have a tendency to lose that race, resulting in many motorists running the red light.

NewBrunswickToday.com reminds both drivers and pedestrians to be on high alert when crossing this intersection, as well as a similar intersection down the road by Commercial Ave.

Anyone with details of the incident are encouraged to contact the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5200.