Safety changes are planned for the congested intersection of Farm-to-Market 1187 and Farm-to-Market 730 in Crowley where dozens of accidents have occurred and a young girl was killed.
The speed limit on FM 1187 will be lowered from 55 MPH to 45 MPH as it approaches Crowley Road, also known as FM 730, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Flashing lights have already been installed warning “Highway intersection ahead.”
The changes come after 20-month-old Eleanor Click was killed in a crash at the intersection in April.
“I remember every bit of it,” said Eleanor’s mother Krysta Click. “The squealing of the tires. How fast we were hit.”
The family was on the way to a park, driving through the intersection, when their car was struck by a pickup.
"And it took nothing but the blink of an eye,” Click said.
Several people were injured.
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The girl was the only one killed.
"She was just so happy,” her mother remembered. “I never once worried about her happiness."
Angry and grieving, the mother turned investigator.
She asked police for a list of accidents at that same intersection.
She learned there have been 110 accidents there since 2010.
"And out of 110 of those accidents, 15 were major or fatal,” she said. “That's a big number."
NBC DFW confirmed Click's list with police.
She said the problem is with the stoplights. There are two sets of them, and they don't allow enough time for drivers to safely get through, she said.
"This intersection, to me, it needs more time in-between the red lights and green lights,” she said.
Click started an online petition drive that now has more than 12,000 signatures.
"I'm doing it for my daughter and other families,” she said. “They deserve that."
A TxDOT spokesman, Val Lopez, said late Tuesday that the agency already is making changes.
It’s added a flashing light: "Highway Intersection Ahead."
It’s also working with the city of Crowley to lower the speed limit on FM 1187.
Her mother hopes the improvements will save another family from the same tragedy.
"I feel like she never left,” she said.”I just can't hold her. I can't hug her or kiss her like I want to."
