BUTLER TWP — Brandy Kight stepped over shards of glass near the embankment at the dead end of New Castle Road. Sifting through damp leaves, she pulled out her nephew’s phone case from the dirt, one of the last items left after the rollover crash.

Kight’s nephew, Damian Hall, 27, was killed the night of Oct. 26 after the vehicle he was driving hit an embankment at the turnaround at the 400 block of New Castle Road.

Leading up to the turnaround, there had been no flashing signs or arrows to warn Hall, or anyone else, against driving into the dead end. There is one “No outlet” sign at the intersection of Greenwood Drive and Lions Road, but nothing further along the road.

The sign can be easily missed by motorists checking traffic at the intersection, Hall’s stepfather, Phil Profota, said.

The fatality marked the fifth accident this year on the stretch of the state-maintained road, said Butler Township police Chief John Hays.

Members of Hall’s family gathered at the site of the accident late Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 31. His death was preventable, they said.

Hays said Hall’s death was the first fatality known to occur on that stretch of road, but that it had been the site of numerous accidents within several years.

He noted that the road could benefit from more signage.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 16 crashes occurred between the dead end and the road’s intersection with Greenwood Drive.

“Reflective signs would be a massive help,” Kight said.

The bend on New Castle Road is deceptive, she said. There are no arrows guiding drivers to make a turn. Instead, the guardrail runs straight. For drivers who are new to the area, the straight guardrail, rapid turnaround and lack of signage can be a deadly combination.

Profota said Hall would have been unfamiliar with the road. He had been back in Butler County just a month after living in Arizona and Nevada for seven years, Kight said.

The family said Hall was likely traveling to one of his aunts’ houses on Thursday night, driving past Staples and Goodwill, before missing his turn on Lions Road. He continued straight on New Castle Road until reaching the 400 block road that leads to a turnaround. There was no prominent signage, nor arrows, nor flashing signs.

Kight said there were no skid marks left on the road from the crash, indicating her nephew had continued to drive straight without braking, not realizing he was heading into a dead end.

“That is very dangerous,” Kight said. “You come up over (the hill) and that turnaround is very fast if you’ve never been here before or you’re lost.

“Especially at night, if there’s just a bit of fog,” she said.

Police said Hall went airborne and was found hours later by a resident in the area. His dog, Lou, was in the car at the time of the crash and suffered injuries that required extensive surgery following the accident, Kight said. Now in the custody of family friends, the 1-year old Dalmatian was found when police arrived to the scene early Thursday morning.

In a conversation with the resident who discovered the crash, Kight said she learned he had made multiple complaints to PennDOT about the safety of the road.

“This road has been like this for as long as I’ve lived here, and it continues to get worse,” the concerned homeowner said in a letter, which didn’t include his name.

“This could have been prevented months ago, when the (concerned homeowner) first started saying, ‘Hey, what’s it going to take? Someone to die to get something done?’” Kight said. “I guess that’s what it’s going to take, unfortunately.”

“My nephew might be here had they heeded the complaints,” she said.

The homeowner said an accident on the stretch of road could be caused by something as simple as a motorist being lost or following a GPS.

The night of Oct. 31, Kight returned to the stretch of road with her son. She said it seemed as if New Castle Road merged with Route 422 on her GPS navigation system. The speed limit on the portion of New Castle Road that ends in a turnaround is 35 mph, while the high-speed Route 422 is 55 mph.

East of South Benbrook Road, Route 422 is called Benjamin Franklin Highway, but west of the intersection, Route 422 is called New Castle Road. The portion of New Castle Road that ends in the turnaround runs parallel to Route 422 up until a short distance before Route 422 intersects with South Benbrook Road.

“Many GPS (systems) seem to indicate (the road) is (Route) 422,” Kight said.

She said some drivers could mistake the road for the high-speed route.

Hall was living out West and had traveled through the country after leaving Butler County at 18, his family said.

Kight said the 27-year-old was setting up roots and planned to send for his fiancée and his 6-year-old son.

Hall was starting a new chapter in his life, she said.

His family described him as an adventurous free spirit, who loved nature and the outdoors. He was spontaneous and loved to travel, they said, playing classic rock on the guitar and writing his own songs.

“He’s always been strong-willed and free, from when he left his home at 18,” Kight said. “He wanted to see the world.”

His cousin, Jasmine Houston, said Hall kept a journal where he reflected on being a father. In the journal, Hall wrote entries with bits of knowledge he hoped to impart on his son, Jasmine said.

“His whole life was destroyed when it didn’t have to happen,” Kight said.

“We’re just a concerned family trying not to have this tragedy happen to anybody else,” Hall’s aunt, Hope Farley, said.

A Christian service and a celebration of life service for Hall will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 2251 Prospect Road, Prospect.