Fiery crash on RR 1431 claims woman’s life
That stretch of roadway, which is just a few hundred yards east of the projected Manzano Mile which will lead to the site of the new Colt Elementary School, has been the site of other accidents in the past, officials said.
A Department of Public Safety official said Lucia C. Fonseca of Granite Shoals died in the accident about 5:40 a.m. just two-tenths of a mile east of the Marble Falls city limits.
According to DPS, Fonseca was traveling eastbound in a 1996 Chevrolet Trailblazer when “for unknown reasons” the vehicle skidded to the left and went off the roadway.
The vehicle careened down a deep ditch where it struck a concrete culvert, according to reports.
The Trailblazer then flipped over and burst into flames, the DPS report stated.
DPS officials said the exact reason for the accident was unknown, but it is still under investigation. The road conditions, however, were wet.
The accident blocked traffic in both directions for several hours.
The narrow, two-lane stretch of RR 1431 where the deadly crash occurred is marked by a section of winding curves with very little shoulder space on either side of the lanes. There are no guardrails offering any protection to drivers along the drop-offs on both sides of the road.
Residents have voiced concerns about that stretch of road in the past, and fears have been heightened with the nearby new road going in for the school.
“I’ve been in multiple traffic delays as wreckers and EMS personnel respond to accidents in this area,” Diana Collins wrote The Daily Tribune earlier this month. “I have had several near-misses as folks slide over the center line. There’s no shoulder along there for getting out of the way.”
Earlier this month, the city of Marble Falls broke ground on the Manzano Mile, which will eventually lead to the new Colt when it opens in fall 2009. The intersection is a few hundred yards west of where Fonseca’s death occurred.
When the elementary school and road are completed, school and city officials said it will increase the amount of traffic on the slender section of roadway leading into the city.
Texas Department of Transportation area engineer Howard Lyons said earlier this month that RR 1431 and the Manzano Mile intersection meet all the department’s safety standards without needing significant improvements including spacing and sight-distance criteria.
Not far away is Mustang Drive, the road off RR 1431 that leads to Marble Falls High School.
When the high school opened in its current location, RR 1431 was still two lanes at Mustang Drive.
But TxDOT officials said it was widened to its current five-lane configuration after traffic safety became a concern.
Residents have said TxDOT needs to do the same for RR 1431 near the Manzano Mile.
“I’m very concerned this part of 1431 will be a repeat of the Texas 71 tragedies between the Pedernales Bridge and Bee Cave. It took several years of fatal car crashes before improvements were taken to make the highway safer. Wonder if the TxDOT studies showed it was ‘safe’?” Collins wrote.
Mustang Drive and the new Manzano Mile intersections are within a couple hundred yards of each other. Both will also serve as entrances and exits for the new Mustang Stadium for home football games beginning in 2009.
daniel@thepicayune.com