BELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — A Temple mother is sounding the alarm about dangerous speeding in her neighborhood after a tragic crash claimed a teenager's life. Ann Belcher says she witnesses drivers going more than double the speed limit on Westfield Boulevard every day.
- Temple mother Ann Belcher witnesses daily speeding on Westfield Boulevard, where drivers reach speeds of 70+ mph in residential areas with 20-30 mph limits.
- Belcher's safety concerns intensified after 16-year-old Adrian Banks died and his sister was injured in a crash on nearby Tarver Drive last week.
- Her son will walk home from school along Westfield Boulevard next year, making the speeding issue a personal safety concern for her family.
- Belcher calls for more stop signs and speed limit signage along the stretch from West Adams Drive to Prairie View Road to slow down reckless drivers.
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A Temple mother is advocating for increased safety measures on Westfield Boulevard after a recent fatal crash involving a local teenager has heightened concerns about speeding in residential neighborhoods.
Ann Belcher, who lives off West Adams Avenue and Westfield Boulevard, said she witnesses dangerous driving daily during her neighborhood walks. Her concerns intensified following the death of 16-year-old Adrian Banks and injury to his younger sister after they were hit on Tarver Drive last week.
"I'm pretty sure for the child, one child to be dead and one child to be severely injured, they had to be speeding," Belcher said.
During a walk along her usual route, Belcher pointed out multiple vehicles exceeding the speed limit.
"Some of them probably go 70 or more," she said.
Belcher described one particularly dangerous incident where a speeding truck nearly lost control.
"A truck, you know, he's going so fast that he almost lost control and he kind of like hopped onto the sidewalk," she said.
Her concerns are personal as well as community-focused. Next year, her son will walk home from school along Westfield Boulevard, and despite teaching him safety precautions, she worries about other drivers' recklessness.
"Children don't pay attention like adults do, so I'm very fearful for him that he's walking home from school next year and that these people are speeding, they're not paying attention, they're being reckless on the road," Belcher said.
From West Adams Drive to Prairie View Road, Westfield Boulevard has one 30 mph speed limit sign and two 20 mph school zone signs. Belcher believes this signage is insufficient to control speeding drivers.
"I feel like they should have more stop signs down the road where the four ways are. They need more speed limit signs posted because there's not a whole lot," she said.
Belcher hopes city officials will implement changes to prevent future tragedies.
"There needs to be something else done too to try to help to slow these people down and I mean I don't understand how people would not wake up, especially something horrible like that happening," she said.
Dominique Leh submitted an open records request for crash reports on and near Westfield Boulevard and contacted the city regarding potential new stop signs and speed limit enforcement. The city has not yet responded to these inquiries.
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