Grand St. Is A Problem. Second Fatal Accident In 3 Months.

Things started off very ominously in Amarillo as an accident on Grand St marred the start of a new year. Three people were killed in that accident, and it was determined that one of the drivers was going as fast as 100 mph.

Yesterday, April 2, 2024, we find ourselves talking about yet another fatal accident occurring on Grand St, albeit in a different location.

This one happened on the I-40 & Grand north frontage road, where three vehicles came together resulting in the death of one of the drivers. A driver in a Pontiac G6 was approaching Grand St from the frontage road when a Toyota FJ Cruiser slammed into the driver side of the approaching car.

The Toyota then hit a Ford F150. The driver of the Pontiac G6, Catherine White, 63, was rushed to the hospital where she sadly passed away from her injuries. The driver of the Ford F150 was also taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Toyota was uninjured.

Bottom line is this. Grand St. is a problem all the way around. It doesn't matter where you seem to be on or around it, you are in danger at this point.

I have to drive Grand St. often to get to Rick Klein for my boys baseball games. I can tell you from experience the amount of times I've had to slam my brakes on getting off I-40 because the frontage road there is like the wild wild west.

A yield sign there seemingly does nothing as a lot of drivers don't pay attention to it, they just keep cruising along. There are also several entrances to parking lots right there on the frontage road that people are turning into.

Once you somehow make it on to Grand St. from the frontage road, the adventure isn't over. People constantly run red lights there next to the McDonald's and Braum's. If you don't wait at least 2-3 seconds to start moving once your light turns green, you're at risk of getting pummeled.

Speeding is a major issue down Grand, and not just the stretch by the ballfields and golf course. The speed limit starts at 35 mph, then quickly works up to 40 mph, then ultimately 50 mph once you get through the four-way stop near Caprock High School.

Most drivers don't wait to hit 50 mph or better, and I've seen several drivers just blow through the four-way stop, even if there were cars just beginning to move after making the stop.

Long story short, we need to do something about Grand St. I don't know if the answer is a more constant police presence or what, but I can tell you that if we don't get a handle on it quickly, there will be more vehicle-related deaths we'll be talking about in 2024.