Here it is coming up on Mother’s Day and I wish I were writing a warm and fuzzy story about the relationship between mother and child, but there are heavier things on my mind since the tragic death of one of our West Hills High School students Ryan Willweber. My heart goes out to the family for such an unbearable loss and I am extremely concerned about the other students who were his friends. For many of them, this could be the first time in dealing with death in a personal way.
Here it is coming up on Mother’s Day and I wish I were writing a warm and fuzzy story about the relationship between mother and child, but there are heavier things on my mind since the tragic death of one of our West Hills High School students Ryan Willweber. My heart goes out to the family for such an unbearable loss and I am extremely concerned about the other students who were his friends. For many of them, this could be the first time in dealing with death in a personal way.
As humans, we naturally try to make sense of heartbreaks such as this, trying to find a fault or reason on why such a thing could happen. Many times though, there really are no resolutions as we struggle through all of the questions that surround the death of a loved one, friend or part of the community. And the death of Ryan hit the community of West Hills hard. Those who chose to speak out about him described an outgoing, vibrant teen with high goals and great expectations of him and those lives he touched.
There are many speculations on how and why this accident took place, but the bottom line is that it did and his family and friends have to deal with it in the best way that they can. For his friends and the other students at West Hills, my wish is that you find solace in the aftermath. Talk with your counselors, and better yet speak with your parents. I realize that for some this is the most difficult thing to do, but it essential in sharing your grief, anger and bewilderment. You may never find closure, but you will gain a greater understanding of the importance of a good relationship with your family. And as this incident so clearly demonstrates, death follows no pattern in life, it is just one of those things that all of us have to deal with many ways throughout our lives.
But there are some things that can be done to help in preventing further tragedies like this one. Anyone that has driven this section of Mast Blvd. knows that the 40/25 (when children are present) mph is not followed by many drivers and especially around a school area, it is important that speed limits be taken seriously. Although preliminary reports show that speed was not a factor, there needs to be traffic control measures initiated immediately.
The city of Santee said that they have monitored this area since 2003, and it has an incredibly low accident rate. They are going to look at it closer after the investigation is complete to see if anything needs to be done, but I believe that one death is one too many and measures are needed immediately.
Santee needs to step up and skip all the red tape and create at least a temporary fix to this problem. It could be as simple as stop signs at the entrance and exit of the schools. There is no valid reason for waiting for the Castlerock community to be developed sometime in 2017, when a traffic light will be installed. Something needs to be done now, even if it is to give students and parents a little more peace of mind, especially for the students that are young drivers.
As traumatic as it is to lose a friend, it can be just as scary thinking that “it could have been me,” and I am sure that there are students that left the school immediately prior or after the accident that have had these thoughts running through their heads. This can scar a young driver for a very long time, and a terrified driver on the road is a dangerous combination.
We will never know if traffic control measures were already installed could have prevented this tragic accident, but with some creative and quick action, could ease the anxiety for parents and students that it might possibly help it from happening again.
There is a lot to be said about having even an inkling of peace of mind, and the city of Santee has the ability to help create this for the parents, students, faculty and staff of West Hills.
Do something now. You have the power that was given to you to do so, and as elected officials have the obligation of being proactive in keeping the children of our community as safe as it can be.
