FORT WORTH, Texas — After getting more and more complaints from drivers experiencing reckless drivers on the road, the Fort Worth Police Department is increasing enforcement.
The complaints are backed up by alarming numbers shared with Fort Worth City Council members recently.
The number of fatal crashes in the past six months comes as no surprise to Linnette Rogers who is on the road every day for work. She commutes about an hour to work most of the week.
What’s even more devastating for Rogers is reckless driving has impacted her entire family after losing her 74-year-old mother Linda Miller to reckless driving behavior last year.
"We are still suffering the loss of my mom,” said Rogers.
Making it through this past Mother's Day was rough for Rogers and her family, and she has a big family, too.
They lost her mother last year in a hit-and-run crash. They are still praying for justice because no one has been arrested in the case even though there is a reward available for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
The fatal crash changed Rogers' life forever. Her mother was not alone in the car when it was struck by a driver involved in a race, according to police.
Her father survived but still suffers.
"He's suffering mentally, physically and emotionally from from losing his in a tragic accident that could have been avoided,” said Rogers.
Rogers' parents got on the road around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2022, after attending a viewing to support another grieving family. Someone struck their vehicle on westbound Interstate 20 near the Hemphill Road exit.
Officers working traffic enforcement at the Fort Worth Police Department hope to avoid another six months of disturbing traffic crashes. That’s because the past six months add up to some disturbing numbers.
From November to April, Fort Worth PD has issued more than 12,000 traffic citations, nearly 1,700 of those were school zone violations. And in the same six months, officers responded to 61 fatal crashes.
Among those crashes was one on Dec. 26 involving a pick-up truck where one person died and another crash on Jan. 23 on University Drive that killed a driver and passenger during street racing, according to police.
On Feb. 3, a driver on MLK Freeway hit a stalled vehicle, killing one person and injuring the good Samaritan who stopped to help.
And in April, two people died when their car collided with a tow truck on Highway 287.
Officer Bradley Perez told WFAA his department must do something to stop the deadly reckless driving on roads, especially as Fort Worth continues to grow at a record pace compared to other major cities in the country.
"Fort Worth is a growing city. And the fact is, is that there's more and more people that are moving here. The thing is that we have more people on the road," said Perez. "We're going to have more cameras, more patrol in those areas and definitely a lot more enforcement."
Fort Worth police are also concerned that the summer will bring more people commuting across North Texas highways and roads. Perez encouraged people to report reckless drivers when it safe to do so.
“We don’t want to write you a citation,” said Perez. “This is frustrating when you look at the number of these that could have been avoided. Unfortunately, we just had one over the weekend where a fatality was involved.”
As police beef up patrols, Rogers urged drivers to slow down and drive safe, so they aren’t responsible for taking someone’s loved one in an accidental crash.
"You don't want to cause anyone to lose a loved one because of your bad driving, your reckless driving,” said Rogers.
Her plea comes as she and her family still await the day the driver responsible for her mother's death is brought to justice.
Anyone with information on the March 11, 2022, crash involving her mother and father can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 817-469-8477. All calls to the tip line are 100% confidential and if your tip leads to an arrest and conviction, you could earn a cash reward.