by Matt Johnson
KILLEEN - In a booming area of Killeen drivers now have a dangerous problem on their hands, more and more deer are jumping in front of drivers, especially at night.
Four deer in just three weeks have been killed along Stagecoach Road after being struck by cars.
"It's just a two-lane country road and there's no passing lanes," said Don Clay, who owns a home on Stagecoach Road. "So when a deer jumps out in front of you there's not much you can do except hit him or swerve onto oncoming traffic."
Clay called Animal Control twice this week for them to pick up two deer laying next to his home.
With developers working on bringing hundreds of homes into the area, Stagecoach Road isn't the quiet, rural place it used to be.
Clay's neighbor says the roads just aren't built for the kind of traffic they're seeing.
"It's dark out here at night and traffic has just quadrupled in a short period of time," said Russell Coburn.
News Channel 25 drove along Stagecoach late at night and noticed no Deer Crossing signs and very few street lights along the country roads. It's the darkness and the lack of warnings that have neighbors worried most.
"We've had multiple deer hit in just a few days," said Coburn. "Sooner or later a deer is going to go through a windshield, or roll up under a car and flip it over and we're going to lose a family."
Clay has written letters to the city manager pleading for signs warning drivers of deer. A city spokesperson tells News Channel 25 that plans are in place to put up warning signs, however, no time table has been set.
Councilman Larry Cole says road improvements won't stop the bigger problem.
"Unless there's a police car sitting right there, traffic moves at a pretty high rate," said Cole. "They're probably not going to pay any attention to a deer sign."
Don Clay hopes the city will act sooner than later to protect drivers. In the meantime, he says traffic in his once-peaceful neighborhood will only increase.
"The city's growing," said Clay. "There's nowhere it can grow but out here."
