That's terrible.
I would never let Jackson off leash near a busy road; I have let him off in our yard... but our situation is different. We're not in a neighborhood, we live on 3 acres and behind us is 90 acres of farmland behind us. Even with that though, I'd never let him off without watching him. I don't fully trust him right now so he's been on a 50 foot leash for a few months now working on recall, etc.