Death prompts talk of road upgrades

Stafford County, Va. –– There is renewed talk about improving Stafford’s roads following the death of a high school student.

Every road in the county should be reviewed for safety, said Board of Supervisor’s Chairman Mark Dudenhefer earlier this month. But he focused specifically on Mountain View Road – a two-lane thoroughfare that is used to transport commuters to and from work, and students to Mountain View High School.

Though improvement plans are in the works, specific details are not yet available for public viewing.

“Obviously the county, the state, the federal government does not have all the dollars to fix all of the roads in Stafford County. But we have put together a plan, and we will aggressively follow that plan as best as we can…I look forward to the day when I can ride that stretch of Mountain View Road…and believe that we’ve done some things that made that stretch of road better,” said Dudenhefer.

The chairman lost his 19-year-old daughter to a fatal crash in Stafford County in 2004, and made her death the impetus for his run for the county’s Board of Supervisors.

Forrest Peterson, 17, was killed Sept. 29 when he lost control of his car and collided with trees at the intersection of Brooke and Andrew Chapel roads. He is the latest teenager to die on Stafford’s roads. Authorities said he was not wearing his seatbelt.

He was a junior at Brooke Point High School, a football player and wrestler.

Following his death, Dudenhefer praised Peterson’s parents for wanting to make Stafford’s roads safer.

“They’ve contacted me and…they would like to be part of the solution. I think that’s very strong of them. I don’t think that 11 days after my daughter’s accident I would have known to reach out and even think about doing those things,” said Dudenhefer.

But it may not be as easy as improving roadways, according to a report Stafford’s Board of Supervisors commissioned in 2004.

The Youth Drivers Task force report recommended forming a master plan for road construction and road improvements in Stafford, as the county will continue to see more homes, businesses and cars added, the report stated.

It also called for parents, teenagers, driver educators in schools and the community to become more aware of the dangers teens face on county roads.

“My focus is on teenagers…their ability to not even see the speed limit sign sometimes, and their ability to proceed down roads and think their invincible, I think that’s a trait of most teenage boys,  they think they’re not going to be hurt and that’s not the case as we’ve proven many times,” said Dudenhefer.