A Texas family has spoken out after a speeding car blasted through their backyard fence and nearly killed their toddler playing just inches from the impact.
The Van Dusen family issued a statement describing the Sunday evening crash at their Heritage Place home in Fort Worth, where a 22-year-old motorist lost control around 7 p.m. And sent debris flying into a pool where their 5-year-old twins were swimming. The family said their 2-year-old was on the concrete patio “just inches away” from the path of destruction.
“Our 2-year-old was in our backyard, just inches away from where a vehicle came crashing through our fence,” the family said in the statement. “Our twins could have been injured or killed. In a matter of seconds, our home and our backyard — places where our children should be completely safe — became a scene where we were forced to face the possibility of losing one of our children.”
Fort Worth police confirmed the driver was merely cited for the crash. Texas law categorizes reckless driving as a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of no more than $200 and up to 30 days in jail, according to the Texas Transportation Code.
“A fence can be repaired. Property can be replaced. But a child’s life cannot,” the family said. “We are not interested in simply pointing fingers. We want to turn what happened to our family into meaningful change.”
Neighbors said that speeding and reckless driving are a chronic problem in the neighborhood. Toni Gunter, who lives a few houses down from the Van Dusen family, described the daily barrage of dangerous driving.
“Every day from 3 o’clock till 10 o’clock, at least, I go to bed at 10 — at least for those several hours, it’s constant,” Gunter said.
Gunter recalled the moment of the crash itself. “And then you just heard an explosion and you just knew there was a crash,” she said.
Frustrated neighbors aren’t confident city hall will take real action — and fear a simple stop sign won’t cut it. “I just don’t know if they’re really going to do anything that will stop it,” Gunter said. “It’s too much money and they don’t want to spend it. I understand, but I don’t know if you could convince that father that his daughter isn’t worth it.”
Fort Worth City Councilmember Charles Lauersdorf vowed to implement traffic-calming measures immediately to curb reckless driving in the area. “Any time you have these new developments that just have long stretches of road with nothing to slow drivers down, it’s a problem,” Lauersdorf said. Lauersdorf expects a stop sign to be installed within 30 days, adding that a traffic study is required before a stoplight could be erected on Heritage Place.
It remains unclear who the motorist is or what penalties the citation carries.