NCDOT installs new stop signs at dangerous Wendell intersection
WENDELL, NC (WTVD) -- The North Carolina Department of Transportation kept good on their word by installing new, bigger stop signs at a dangerous Wendell intersection.
Crews installed the signs Wednesday after hearing pleas from a family who lost their 11-year-old grandson.
Ronnie and Pamela Hickmon are hoping the new signs will stop other families from experiencing the pain they've had to go through.
About 9 p.m. on December 2, their daughter Samantha was driving home in Wendell with her son, Aaron, in the backseat. The Hickmons said she was following her GPS and in an unfamiliar area when she ran the stop sign on Applewhite Road, crossing into the path of an oncoming pickup traveling down Highway 231.
The truck hit the backside of Samantha's car, killing Aaron.
READ MORE: Dangerous Wendell intersection getting upgrades - but too late for one family
The Hickmons said their daughter never saw the stop ahead sign or the stop sign itself.
They said they're thankful, the NCDOT would improve the safety of the intersection by a four-way stop.
"Aaron, he's gone," said Ronnie. "That's just something we've got to deal with. But the thing is, it could be your child next or your loved one. Nobody should have to go through this unnecessary pain."
