East Dallas Neighbors Say They've Warned City About Deadly Intersection For Years
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) - It was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime for the Burris brothers.
"That was a bucket list trip," said Clayton Burris.
However, two weeks before Clayton and his brother James were scheduled to fly out to Augusta, Ga to watch the Masters, tragedy struck.
James Burris, driving his Toyota Camry with his girlfriend Angelica Figueroa in the passenger's seat, attempted to turn left onto Buckner Road from Dixie Lane when they were hit by a speeding Chevrolet Camaro.
Burris, James Burris was an architect and a Lake Highlands High School graduate, died at the scene.
Figueroa remains in the hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the Camaro, 23-year-old Anthony Gakuo, has been charged with racing on a highway causing serious bodily injury.
Blake Jessup, a neighbor, witnessed the crash and called 911.
"This didn't have to happen," he said. "It was avoidable"
Jessup along with other neighbors said they've warned the City of Dallas, for the past eight years, that something needed to be done about this stretch of Buckner Road.
Neighbor Mary Bentley said there's a wreck along, the less than a quarter mile stretch of Buckner Road near Dixie Lane, every month.
Bentley emailed the city a month ago about her concerns.
"I'm just angry now," said Jessup. "I've told them for eight years someone was going to die.
Since the wreck, neighbors said the city has told them it will conduct a traffic survey at the intersection.
Meanwhile, Clayton Burris has started a petition asking for a traffic light at the intersection.
Burris said if the city won't install a traffic light, he would like to see Dixie Lane closed off at Buckner Road.
