Marsha Sharp Project to expand lanes, put up barriers after deadly collision

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - For Mendy Wyatt, the recent death of her friend, Brooke Parker, was a blow.

"Brooke was on her way home from work, she had no control over the situation around her," Wyatt said.

Parker was killed on Nov. 7, in a head-on collision on the Marsha Sharp Freeway, near Jones AT&T stadium. Police responded to reports of a car driving on the wrong side of the road around 9:30 that night. Officers say they were trying to find the vehicle when they got the call about the crash.

"It's very, very difficult, to have someone that was so close to you, here one day and completely gone from this earth to the next."

But, Parker's death isn't the only vehicle-related death Wyatt has had to deal with. A close family friend was killed a decade ago in a crash similar to this one.While Wyatt says she knows what happened in that case, she says until all the facts are released by the Lubbock Police Department, it's impossible to draw a conclusion about what happened this time around.

"It's hard to speculate. Was that driver impaired? Possibly. Or, did they fall asleep? Possibly. How do you end up going the wrong way on a freeway? It's hard to speculate."

Dianah Ascencio with the Texas Department of Transportation says this project on the Marsha Sharp will hopefully eliminate the possibility of more deaths.

"Over the course of the freeway, that section of the freeway being completed in 2009, we have seen an increase in traffic. Safety is the driving force for anything we do here at TxDOT. Whether it's during our winter weather operations, or when we're designing our roadways. The traffic barrier as well as guardrail, we put those in place as a measure to keep the traveling public safe," Ascencio said.

Ascensio said that the Marsha Sharp Freeway will end up looking different from the Freeway we see today.

"It is going to look very similar to what you see on South Loop, as far as concrete traffic barriers along the middle, the illumination, the lighting you see, and just the configuration, the layout."

It's a change Wyatt says she is looking forward to.

"I know during the winter months it can get really, really treacherous sometimes – and uh, I think that would be a benefit during the winter months. I know hitting a concrete barricade is still very dangerous, but, um, that barricade is stable and not moving  - and is not alive, versus going all the way across the median and hitting someone who is moving toward you and who is alive…whether it's a single 25-year-old driving home from work, or a family with kids in the car. You know, anything that could prevent a tragedy like that from happening would be beneficial."

The Lubbock Police Department tells us they are still waiting on toxicology reports from the crash.

Meanwhile, bracelets are being sold in Brooke's honor, with the proceeds going to a scholarship fund set up in her name. If you would like to donate directly to the page, just go to www.gofundme.com/brooke-a-parker-scholarship-fund.

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