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Sheriff, drivers demand fix for pavement 'bump' on Highway 6

Slow down sign
Posted at 10:18 PM, Nov 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-07 03:11:07-05

Lots of people have come forward to tell 25 News of a problem on Highway 6, just outside Riesel. It's where a crash last month killed a Falls County K-9 Deputy and injured the Riesel Police Chief.

Those people want action.

"How often do I travel Highway 6?" asked 25 News reporter Dennis Turner.

"Every day, twice a day," responded Bobbie McCarver, who recently noticed signs along six alerting drivers to the dangers of fast speeds in bad conditions.

Slow down sign

McCarver believes there's more to it, because of a potentially deadly problem with the road round the bend coming into Riesel.

"My wheels lose contact with the pavement, and it's automatic, a safety feature that the truck just shuts down," said McCarver.

Falls County Sheriff Ricky Scaman said accidents happen here at least monthly, and more often in bad weather.

Neither local nor state agencies could immediately provide 25 News numbers, but a check on kxxv.com turned up several stories about accidents on the stretch of road.

While the signs advise drivers to slow down in wet pavement, they don't address the root of the problem, and that's something Sheriff Scaman has made a personal mission.

So what causes the wheels of our cars to jump off the pavement? Scaman says it's a pavement problem.

"There's an imperfection in the road. I mean, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Drive through it, and you'll feel that," explained Sheriff Scaman.

The sheriff said the state has not finished investigating the accident leading to the death of Falls County Deputy Matt Jones and severely Injuring Riesel Police Chief Danny Krumnow. However, Sheriff Scaman believes the "Highway 6 bump" set the deadly chain of events into motion.

Sheriff Scaman said the Texas Department of Public Safety wants another reconstruction of the accident, before it will complete its investigation.

So far, he's convinced the TxDOT district engineer to put up the warning sign.

"That's the best they can do for now, I think. I'm just hoping their study is complete quick, and they have a solution that's going to correct the problem in its entirety and not just put a patch over the problem," said Sheriff Scaman.

He also enlisted the help of Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell and Representative Kyle Kacal to get TxDOT to re-grade and smooth out the road. TxDOT said it is continuing to study the problem.

That's fine, said Bobbie McCarver, but she wants a fix.

"I think that's what needs to be done. It's dangerous, real dangerous," explained McCarver.