Auburn: Make road improvements before more people are killed
AUBURN -- People who live and work along a dangerous stretch of road are calling for safety changes before more people are killed or injured.
In the last two months, there have been two deaths and a serious injury along a short stretch of Highway 164 between Auburn and Enumclaw.
One of those deaths occurred Friday when Sandy Johnson, a single mother of four children, was killed.
"She was fun and she was cool," said her 13-year-old daughter Shyla Rouse. She got the news shortly after the crash.
"I felt like it wasn't real and I thought it was like a dream or something," she said.
Her mother worked as an in-home caregiver in Auburn and was waiting to head out of an apartment driveway. A 45-year-old Enumclaw man told investigators that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel and drifted off the road right into the Johnson's station wagon, killing Johnson instantly.
"I think if he felt that he was going to fall asleep he could have stopped or something and pulled in somewhere," Shyla said.
An investigation is under way to determine if he’ll face charges.
Just last March in this same spot of Highway 164, a driver tried passing a car, lost control and smashed into a power pole, taking the driver's life.
And just last Saturday, a bicyclist trying to cross the road there was hit by a pickup. He survived.
But folks here have had it. The city of Auburn says they've tried to get the state to act.
"We had a proposal before the Legislature this year, however it died," said
Auburn police Sgt. Jamie Sidell. "So we're going to go back next year and make the proposal again with more data to get money to make improvements."
The folks here say they want to start a safety petition drive and do it in Sandy Johnson's honor.
She had the family together, but now the children are going to be split among relatives.
A fund is being set up to help her children at any Bank America branch in Sandy Johnson's name.
In the last two months, there have been two deaths and a serious injury along a short stretch of Highway 164 between Auburn and Enumclaw.
One of those deaths occurred Friday when Sandy Johnson, a single mother of four children, was killed.
"She was fun and she was cool," said her 13-year-old daughter Shyla Rouse. She got the news shortly after the crash.
"I felt like it wasn't real and I thought it was like a dream or something," she said.
Her mother worked as an in-home caregiver in Auburn and was waiting to head out of an apartment driveway. A 45-year-old Enumclaw man told investigators that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel and drifted off the road right into the Johnson's station wagon, killing Johnson instantly.
"I think if he felt that he was going to fall asleep he could have stopped or something and pulled in somewhere," Shyla said.
An investigation is under way to determine if he’ll face charges.
Just last March in this same spot of Highway 164, a driver tried passing a car, lost control and smashed into a power pole, taking the driver's life.
And just last Saturday, a bicyclist trying to cross the road there was hit by a pickup. He survived.
But folks here have had it. The city of Auburn says they've tried to get the state to act.
"We had a proposal before the Legislature this year, however it died," said
Auburn police Sgt. Jamie Sidell. "So we're going to go back next year and make the proposal again with more data to get money to make improvements."
The folks here say they want to start a safety petition drive and do it in Sandy Johnson's honor.
She had the family together, but now the children are going to be split among relatives.
A fund is being set up to help her children at any Bank America branch in Sandy Johnson's name.
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