Dangers of Freeway Hit Close to Home

* It’s 11 p.m., May 6. I’m roused from my half-sleep by that awful sound I’ve heard once before in the four years I’ve lived here. I literally jump from my bed and run to my 19-month-old daughter’s bedroom, anticipating the next awful sound. Standing at her door with my hand on the knob, I breathe a strong sigh of relief as the second crash does not come. My worst nightmare is not happening--not this time.

My husband is on the phone with the 911 operator while tying his shoes and preparing to hop the redwood fence in our backyard to render assistance--something he had done several times while living here.

A car on the 126 Freeway has spun out of control and crashed into the median. I’m thankful it spun out to the left and not the right. It could have easily ended up in my backyard or one of my neighbors’ yards. It wouldn’t be the first time. The residents of Lafayette Street and the students and faculty of Buena High School are all too familiar with the dangers of the 126 Freeway. It has already claimed the life of one student trying to cross it.

It’s been 33 years since California promised a safety/sound wall. I wonder how many more years--and perhaps lives lost--it will be until something is done about it.

ANN M. CAMERON

Ventura