An Arlington woman fears for her family’s safety after cars continue to crash through her fence and into her backyard.
Leah Burns lives along the exit from eastbound Interstate 30 to Fielder Road. Since moving to the area seven years ago, she said five cars have careened into her backyard with three of those in the last 13 months alone.
“It just horrible,” Burns said. “We never know when someone is going to crash through.”
Burns no longer allows her grandchildren to play in the yard for fear of yet another crash.
“The last one that crashed through actually came into the yard. His engine was still running fiercely, the accelerator was stuck. We didn’t know if it was going to catch on fire and it finally stopped,” she said.
In August, an 18-year-old man ran off the road, crashed at the corner of her property and died. A cross now hangs on the Burns’ fence in his memory.
“The fatality, unfortunately, we watched him go before any help could come. We couldn’t get over to him,” Burns said. “He knocked down a telephone pole, was caught in between a tree and a pole.”
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Burns said she wants to do something to stop the cars and keep her family safe, but the property beyond the fence belongs to the Texas Department of Transportation.
“We need some barricades. That’s just all there is to it,” Burns said.
Burns said her neighbor contacted TxDOT after the deadly crash in August, but they haven’t seen progress.
NBC 5 reached out to TxDOT and learned it is currently conducting a study to determine how to make the exit safer. Spokesman Val Lopez said TxDOT wants to be careful and methodical about reaching a solution to ensure no other traffic issues are created in the area.
In the meantime, the Burns family is wondering when the next vehicle may crash onto their property and how bad it will be.
“Again, wondering if the next time it’s going to come through and hit our bedroom wall or our den where we sit there, because we are running out of trees to stop it,” Burns said.
