We lost another life today. She was only nineteen years old

I awoke this morning to the sound of a helicopter circling above.  Living up Bouquet Canyon in the Angeles Forest, there are usually only a few reasons for this; either a brush fire or a car or motorcycle accident.

Tragically, this morning it was a car accident that once again took the life of a driver passing by. If you've ever driven up Bouquet Canyon Road through the Angeles Forest going to or from the Antelope Valley, you know that it is a beautiful, but treacherous route. Thankfully, cell phones don't work up here so there is no chance of someone texting or talking on their phone while trying to maneuver the hairpin turns.  There are no guard rails and few passing lanes. And there are no CHP vehicles to keep people honest.  It is a road that is completely out of control with fatal accidents occurring almost monthly and nonfatal accidents occurring weekly. And it is where my neighbors and I live, some of us part-time and others, year round.

Whenever I have to drive down the canyon and in to the Santa Clarita Valley I make sure that my things are in order. It's strange living some place where you have to confront your mortality in such a conscious way, but this is how I live, never knowing if I'm going to make it back alive.  And the frustrating part about it is, it doesn't have to be this way.

But, CHP blames the County. And the County blames the Forest Service. And the Forest Service blames the CHP... or the County. And it's enough to make you dizzy as you watch them all take turns stalling and making excuses for why nothing ever changes. Meanwhile more people die.

I suppose that the obvious answer would be to lower the speed limit, but when people drive slower it is too tempting for others who like to speed through the Forest to pass illegally, going over the double yellow lines, with curves and turns, at times every forty to fifty feet.  Most likely, there would probably be more accidents if the speed limit was lowered.

With the recent closing of Vasquez Canyon Road, Bouquet Canyon Road has seen a sharp increase of daily traffic. Add rain and ice to the mix and it is quite possible that there will be a record number of accidents on the road this winter.  Most of them aren't fatal but this morning we lost another young life. Her name was Elena Kramer and she lived in nearby Leona Valley.  I heard that she was on her way to sign up at College of the Canyons to play on their softball team. At nineteen years old, she had her whole life ahead of her. The road conditions weren't bad. No rain, no ice (although one reader has commented that he drove past the accident moments later and it was raining lightly). Perhaps a deer ran out in front of her car. Maybe she was changing the radio station and took her eyes off the road for a split second or someone else ran her off the road while trying to pass her. We'll never know. She died alone in her car while I was just waking up in bed less than a quarter mile away.

I didn't know her but I still care about her and her family. When I stood in silence for a moment at the scene, I said a prayer for  her. And I pray now for a solution to the larger issue too. Because I know that there will be another death soon. And I am fully aware that it could be me. So many times these past twelve years, driving on Bouquet Canyon Road, I've had such close calls.  And every time someone dies on this road, I stop and think, what can be done?  I'm no Civil Engineer. I'm not a Congress Woman or local Captain of the CHP.  I'm just one person, and I have little power.  Okay, I have no power...

But, if I did have the power to do something, this is what I would do:

GUARD RAILS -  Putting up guard rails on the sides of the road around the bends that have steep drops would help cars from plunging down in to the creek bed or the steep ravines.

MEDIAN GUARD BARRIERS - All the way through much of the Angeles Forest, a white cement barrier would stop drivers from drifting over the middle yellow line and right in to oncoming traffic.

SPEED BUMPS -  Before each residence (and there are over 100 cabins on Bouquet Canyon through the Forest) I would put in speed bumps that would cause drivers to have to slow down.

CAMERAS -  Cameras would  be motion censored to photograph all vehicles and monitor their speed. Several posted signs at the entrance to the Forest on either side would warn drivers that tickets will be sent through the mail to anyone caught speeding.

POLICE PRESENCE - Morning and evening commutes and weekends are the worst times to drive up and down the canyon.  This is when police presence needs to be stepped up.  If it's not in the current budget, it needs to be! No more excuses that "there just isn't the money for it".

In my opinion, L.A. County, CHP and the Forest Service each share in the responsibility for this young girl's death and the deaths of dozens of others throughout the years.  And each day that goes by where they do nothing and another person dies is, again, in my opinion a tragic failure on their parts to fix the problem of Bouquet Canyon in the Angeles Forest.

Who will be next?  It could be me. And if it is, at least I will have died knowing that I spoke out about the problem, instead of remaining silent once again.

Elena Kramer's 1999 Ford Mustang

Found near the accident scene. She loved to play softball

16 year old James Rodriguez died in August just 40 feet away

The worst part of their job. They would like to see changes made too

There is power in numbers: 

Please call the phone numbers below and let these agencies know that too many people are dying on Bouquet Canyon Road.  

• U.S. FOREST SERVICE:  661/269-2808
• CHP -  661/294-5540
• COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS - 661/222-2940