HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — There was standing room only in the Sandra Moon Community Complex Monday evening for a town hall addressing the tragic death of 13-year-old Kallel “Kal” Fox.
Huntsville City Councilwoman Jennie Robinson hosted the town hall and invited Huntsville Police officials to address the crash that took the 8th grader’s life.
“As a father of three children, the worst news I can ever think of hearing is an officer knocking on my door telling me that my child has passed,” Sergeant Chris Jackson with Huntsville Police said. “Unfortunately, we had to do that.”
A car hit and killed Kal while he was riding his bike in the crosswalk at the Bailey Cove Road and Green Mountain Road intersection last Tuesday. Huntsville Police has an ongoing investigation into the crash, along with a traffic study to monitor drivers’ behavior. That investigation revealed frequent stops in that area.
“Along Bailey Cove Road, 320 have been made year to date,” Sgt. Jackson said. “Specifically, 165 citations, 69% of those were for speeding.”
Drivers speeding along Bailey Cove Road are a main concern for residents, along with reckless and distracted drivers. While many people requested that Huntsville Police patrol that area more frequently, others asked ‘What can be done if driver behavior can’t be fixed?”
“What can we do if we can’t fix traffic and drivers? Can we fix how kids actually physically get across Bailey Cove?” Concerned resident Carson Laudadio asked. “I think everyone’s a little bit concerned.”
PTA President for Mountain Gap Jordan Gibbs said the intersection where the crash happened has been dangerous for a long time. She caught a driver running a red light there six months ago on her car’s dash camera. If she had not been quick to act, she said she and her children could have been involved in a crash there.
“Somebody had just turned left on a red light and just did not even care. And, I had my kids in the car, and I was just – people don’t seem to care at that intersection very much,” Gibbs said. “And, Bailey Cove’s become like a highway basically.”
Residents pitched ideas to police and city leaders, from speed bumps to expanding the school zone to increase safety in that area. Laudadio, who lived in Colorado before moving here 10 years ago, said protected pedestrian walkways could be an efficient solution.
“We have a golf course tunnel so golfers can safely pass under the road [Bailey Cove Road],” Laudadio said. “It just feels like we should have the same to protect our students and our families. We have pedestrian tunnels [in Colorado]. To me, I believe it’s planning ahead to make things better.”
Huntsville Police said they will evaluate the best path moving forward once the traffic study and investigation are complete.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
