Nine months to the day after his son was struck by a car and killed, a Denton County father is calling for safer roads, and officials in Flower Mound are listening.
On Dec. 28, Andrew Rawson was riding his bicycle home from the store after buying frozen pizzas for dinner. He never made it home. Rawson, 25, was struck by a vehicle and killed.
"When we first moved here, this was a two-lane farm track," said Rob Rawson, Andrew's father, along Gerault Road, near where his son was killed.
Now the road is six lanes, and Rawson said it's poorly lit, lacks traffic signals and drivers go too fast. He recently addressed the Flower Mound Town Council about the issues.
"My concern is the intersection is not adequately safe," he said.
"There's more than just one story like the Rawsons," said Kevin Bryant, Flower Mound deputy mayor pro tem.
Bryant says the town is sympathetic to the Rawsons, and is working on a study into making roads safer.
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"Sadly, with traffic most of the time we're reacting," Bryant said. "It's hard to say we're gonna do this to stop it. This is a problem, let's fix it."
The town is studying ways to improve lighting on busy streets, and is considering a traffic signal at the intersection where Andrew Rawson died.
"I promised myself after this happened that I wouldn't let this slide," said Rob Rawson of his efforts.
He remembers his son as handsome, brilliant, and "a really nice guy."
He hopes to use Andrew's death to spare other families from the same grief.
"I don't like to stop at red lights any more than anyone else does," he said. "But I also don't want to see anyone else injured — let alone killed — on the streets of Flower Mound."
