Photo Courtesy of Sheena Collum From left are patrolman Frank Auriemma, Recreation Director Kate Schmidt, Trustee Steve Schnall, Police Chief Kyle Kroll, Village President Sheena Collum, Sunil Badlani, Sangeeta Badlani, artist Cindy, Trustee Walter Clarke, Trustee Deborah Davis Ford and patrolman Nick Lonero.
From left are patrolman Frank Auriemma, Recreation Director Kate Schmidt, Trustee Steve Schnall, Police Chief Kyle Kroll, Village President Sheena Collum, Sunil Badlani, Sangeeta Badlani, artist Cindy Klein, Trustee Walter Clarke, Trustee Deborah Davis Ford and patrolman Nick Lonero.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — On Feb. 13, the South Orange Board of Trustees, in conjunction with the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, hosted a traffic safety artwork unveiling at the Baird Center. The artwork was created by children at the village’s annual National Night Out and consists of four panels, each depicting a scene illustrating a different traffic safety issue.
The artwork is very personal to West Orange’s Sangeeta and Sunil Badlani, whose 11-year-old son, Nikhil, died in a car crash in 2011 when a distracted driver ran through a stop sign in South Orange. The parents have turned their tragedy into hope, forming the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, which supports education about driver safety and supports student musicians.
According to village President Sheena Collum, even if the work of the Badlani Foundation does not induce you to drive more slowly and to pay attention, the South Orange Police Department will hold you accountable. The SOPD issues a whopping 725 summonses for traffic safety violations in the month of January alone, Collum said.
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