Concerned drivers reached out to NBC 5 hoping to press authorities to make safety improvements on a heavily traveled road in Denton County they say is a magnet for crashes and close calls.
“It’s just not a safe intersection," said Danota Malone.
Malone says her employee lost control of his work truck and crashed into the curb along West Parker Road near the entrance to Calloway’s in Carrollton.
“As he got to this place, was blinded by the sun, traffic was shifting, he hit the curb, both the passenger side front and rear tires hit the curb and exploded,” she said. “As soon as it happened, he noticed a small Lexus car behind him also hit the curb; airbags deployed.”
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About an hour later, with Malone still on the scene, the same thing happened to Sarrah Rodriguez.
“The way that the curve goes, it curves you like you're turning right, but the curve actually goes left,” Rodriguez described.
Malone captured video of Rodriguez’s disabled Jeep and alerted drivers to prevent the Jeep from being rear-ended.
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“There is a business across the street, yelling out to us that it happens here every day,” said Malone.
Malone and Rodriguez say the stretch of road is especially dangerous when you consider sun glare, a lack of signage, and lane markings that simply disappear for 175 yards along the curve.
“Something needs to be done about how that curb actually is jolting out into the roadway where it's in that shift. That is an engineering problem and it's a known hazard,” said Malone. "If it's happening here every day.”
However, these drivers say they’ve hit another roadblock seeking what city or agency is responsible for maintaining this stretch of road, first discovering it happens to be located in a pocket in the small town of Hebron and not within Carrollton city limits.
They hope to seek reimbursement for damages done to their vehicles.
A spokesperson for Denton County tells NBC 5 the county is not responsible for that stretch of road.
Rodriguez says repairs to her Jeep totaled $1,000, a figure that could have been much higher had her fiancé not taken on the task of making the repairs himself.
These drivers say safety improvements are desperately needed. “It can't not be somebody's responsibility,” said Malone.
The mayor of Hebron, Kelly Clem, responded to NBC 5’s request for comment with the following statement:
"This situation is currently under review. In the meantime, anyone requesting any potential reimbursement may mail their claim to the address below. It must state the date, location, and all relevant facts about the claim and damages.
The Town address is:
Town of Hebron
PO Box 11896
Carrollton TX 75011-8916"
