Transportation department will resurvey U.S. 77 South at Fleming Prairie Road
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RECENT WRECKS ON U.S. 77 AND FLEMING PRAIRIE ROAD*2008
JULY - A maroon Ford Expedition pulled out from Fleming Prairie Road to cross U.S. Highway 77 and was struck by another vehicle heading south of U.S. 77.
2010
APRIL ...
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RECENT WRECKS ON U.S. 77 AND FLEMING PRAIRIE ROAD*2008
JULY - A maroon Ford Expedition pulled out from Fleming Prairie Road to cross U.S. Highway 77 and was struck by another vehicle heading south of U.S. 77.
2010
APRIL - A woman and elderly man were hospitalized after the woman's vehicle was struck by the elderly man's vehicle. The woman was on U.S. Highway 77 South and the elderly man was crossing from Fleming Prairie Road.
SEPTEMBER - One person was injured in a motorcycle and truck wreck at the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 South and Fleming Prairie Road.
OCTOBER -A Chevrolet Silverado truck heading east on Fleming Prairie Road failed to yield the right of way to traffic on U.S. Highway 77 South, causing a motorcycle to collide with the truck.
NOVEMBER - One person was taken to the hospital after a three-vehicle wreck on U.S. Highway 77 and Fleming Prairie Road. A truck heading south on U.S. 77 struck and dragged a passenger vehicle about 200 yards after it exited Fleming Prairie Road.
SOURCE; Victoria Advocate archives
*These accidents were the ones reported by the Victoria Advocate.
When traffic slows, a haunting, empty silence echoes atop the hill of U.S. Highway 77 South in front of Speedy Stop.
Faint tire streaks run up and down the hill. One pair of black, rubber screech marks is bold, fresh.
The set of two-foot wide tire marks that travel from the pavement into the grassy median is where a Valley Transit bus en route to McAllen wrecked Wednesday night, killing one woman from Mexico and injuring 21 others.
The woman, Juanita Lopez-Perez, 53, was from Matamoros.
But Lopez-Perez is not the only person who has died along the stretch of road.
Just yards away on Fleming Prairie Road, 19 illegal immigrants perished in a scorching tractor-trailer in May 2003.
And in early 2009, another fatal bus wreck happened about a mile north of the Wednesday night wreck.
"We cringe every time we hear something happens there," said Lonnie Gregorcyk, Texas Department of Transportation-Yoakum District engineer.
The Yoakum district covers Victoria County and 10 surrounding counties.
Several years ago, Texas Department of Transportation made some improvements to the hill and surrounding area, Gregorcyk said.
U.S. 77 South was raised so that traffic coming off side roads and out of the convenience store could be in the line of sight of vehicles traveling south.
An acceleration lane was constructed so that those going into the crossover would not cause traffic traveling at 70 miles per hour to pile up.
This was constructed after a vehicle was rear-ended, Gregorcyk said.
A yield light and signs were also added.
"It's a challenging location," he said. "It generates quite a bit of traffic."
The stretch of highway curves and goes uphill. Plus, there is the convenience store right at the crest of the hill. These elements factor into how difficult it is to find a solution for the road, Gregorcyk said.
Texas Department of Transportation will resurvey the hill because of the wreck, he said. The department will also re-enact the wreck to see what was seen and not seen.
The number of wrecks at the area were not immediately available Thursday.
Linda May, emergency services director with the American Red Cross in Victoria, was at Citizens Medical Center Wednesday night, where several of the 21 injured were taken.
Their major concern was getting home.
"They didn't know what was going to happen next," May said. "They were tired. They were scared."
The Red Cross set up a shelter for the passengers, but all were able to continue on their route late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, she said.
A bus took the passengers to their destination. The passengers arrived in Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley Thursday.
"I think it's a very dangerous area, not only for buses but also for cars," May said. "It's hard to see there. I don't know how they can improve it."
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Comments
Back off the speed issue. The collisions at this particular spot are most commonly caused by drivers not seeing the approaching traffic on 77. Although not the least expensive method but possibility the safest would be an overpass if that's possible. It's been a while since I have driven that way so I don't really remember the lay of the land.
The one thing that I do know, I have seen way too many fatalities come from this spot over the last 16 years. It doesn't take much recall to bring the broken bodies and families to mind.
If reading or hearing of collisions at this spot does this for me, I can only imagine what it does for the families of the victims.
TxDot needs to fix this sooner rather than later. If Mr. Gregorcyk cringes every time he hears of an injury or fatality at that section of roadway, maybe he should be consulting with other engineers to see how they have fixed similar problems.
May 13, 2011 at 7:06 a.m.I was almost in an accident at that same location a couple of weeks ago. I was traveling south and wanted to stop at Chubby's. There was a car in the right turn lane to turn onto Fleming Prairie. He decided to go straight on the shoulder instead of turning and I almost hit him when I went to get over to pull into the parking lot. He was in my blind spot.
May 12, 2011 at 10:26 p.m.close the current crossover. move it further south. most cost effective and practical solution, imo.
May 12, 2011 at 9:42 p.m.High speed, the curve and hill before Fleming Prairie Rd while driving south, the left onto Fleming Prairie RD and the store while driving north, and the careless drivers. The only thing that can be done is reroute Fleming Prairie RD around the back and south side of the store so it enters hi-way 77 away from this curve and hill. And that won't happen.
May 12, 2011 at 9:10 p.m.The intersection of hwy77-a and hwy 95 in Yoakum is also a very bad intersection. Something needs to be done there also.
May 12, 2011 at 9:07 p.m.In 2000, my friend was reared into right there at that Speedy Stop and was killed and left a baby behind. Something needs to happen!
May 12, 2011 at 8:22 p.m.