LAWNDALE, N.C. — Some people are begging for changes at an intersection where two teens were killed right after leaving their high school. It happened Wednesday at Burns High School in Cleveland County.
A petition requesting a traffic light at the crash site is gaining traction online.
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A Department of Transportation representative said they have to consider crash data and road conditions to determine if a stop light is warranted. But the woman who started the petition said it is warranted because back in 2016, a young relative of hers was hit by a car while walking across the street leaving school.
That relative is still alive, but the two teens who crashed there Wednesday weren’t so fortunate.
On Friday, Aisha Hollifield sat among the flowers and balloons and prayed, then cried for her two friends, 17-year-old Dequavious Hopper and his nephew, 14-year-old Jaelyn Abraham. She also cried for their family and the teen passenger in the car who is now in the hospital.
“They were kids and they wanted to go home,” Hollifield said.
Seconds after leaving Burns High School, they collided with a truck.
On her way there Friday, Hollifield stopped to sign the petition to replace the stop sign with traffic lights in all four directions. It’s a cause she and 1,400 other people who signed take seriously.
“I’m passionate to fight for my friends,” she said. “They could have got home safely.”
Cheryl Moore also went to pray for the victims on Friday. She, too, signed the petition.
“We don’t want to see this happen again,” she said. “We don’t want to lose more kids. There really should be a traffic light here.”
Moore didn’t know the teens involved but said people speed there often.
“Let’s save our children,” she said. “Please, please put a traffic light here.”
In a statement, the DOT said “We were saddened to learn of the passing of two Burns High School students earlier this week, and we send our deepest sympathies to their families and friends.”
They added they have to do traffic studies and look at historical data, which is a process that can take months.
Aisha Hollifield said her friends died in minutes and time is critical.
“Do something about it,” she said.
The DOT said they will install a traffic light at Shady Grove Road, which is just up the street near the student parking lot. A relative of the teens killed said they know of several other people who crashed there. They want the state to act quickly so no one else experiences what they are going through.
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