Twenty days ago, Rudder High junior Lauren Rio Landmark was working at a fundraiser in memory of her grandmother who died of pancreatic cancer.
She passed away in December at the age of 55, prompting Landmark to mobilize, hoping to increase awareness about the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
Landmark succeeded: The 16-year-old secured the help of classmates at Bryan's Hammond Oliver and fellow members of the Rudder Rangerettes dance team. Together they cooked a pancake breakfast and participants walked off the calories, ultimately raising more than $2,000 in three hours for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Those who knew Landmark wrestled Thursday with the irony of her deep passion to remember her grandmother who died too early, and the cold reality that Landmark followed soon after.
Landmark was killed Wednesday in an afternoon wreck at the intersection of University and Copperfield drives.
School officials said that about 100 students and parents went Thursday to Rudder High School, where six counselors were there to listen and help.
It's at that school's auditorium where Landmark's funeral will be Saturday, which marks one month from what would have been her 17th birthday. A viewing begins at noon; services start at 2 p.m.
Landmark attended Rudder and Hammond Oliver, which is a half-day program for students interested in a health related career. She was a member of the Rangerettes, where she served as the vice president of the social board. She also played tennis.
While family and friends continued to struggle with their loss, College Station investigators worked Thursday to piece together the moments leading up to the two-vehicle accident on a stretch of road under construction. No findings have been released and police have said it could take weeks.
The two passengers in Landmark's car -- her only sister, Shelby, and Shaylynn McClendon, both 13-year-old girls, were taken to College Station Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
College Station resident James Young, the 26-year-old driver of the truck driving along University Drive, was taken to The Med with non-life-threatening injuries. The only passenger in the truck, 27-year-old Chase McCauley of College Station, declined medical treatment for a bump on his head.
Ongoing construction close to the accident site continued Thursday as crews worked to add left-turn lanes and install a traffic signal at the intersection. The project, contracted to Navasota-based Glenn Fuqua Inc., is expected to be complete in May, said Bob Colwell, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation.
The changes are meant to improve both safety and capacity in the area, he said.
Some area residents said they were concerned because that stretch of road -- which construction has shut down the westbound shoulder for about a mile -- is more dangerous than normal. Combined with an increased amount of traffic in the area because of new businesses and more homes being built, Janice Wood and others think the speed limit should be lowered from its current 60 mph.
"Are they going to wait until we have two fatalities?" the College Station resident who has lived in the area of the accident for 18 years asked. "I know they have signs and flashing lights on hand they could use to slow people down."
An indication of that explosive growth in the area can be seen at the property tax office: The Park Hudson tax increment reinvestment zone that surrounds the area has increased in basic tax value from $35,000 in 1998 to $122 million in 2008, according to Deputy City Manager Hugh Walker.
Speed limits are set by the Texas Department of Transportation based on a variety of factors, including curves, surface width and type, right of way width, crash history, cross streets, school crossings and sites that generate traffic, according to TxDOT.
A philosophy known as the 85th percentile is used to determine a safe speed, where the limit is set based on the speed 85 percent of those motorists clocked as traveling on a given roadway.
TxDOT officials said the speed limit could be lowered to 10 miles below the 85th percentile if some of the following factors are present, including:
* Curves and hills
* Hidden driveways and other developments
* High number of driveways
* Crash history
* Rural residential or developed area
* Lack of striped, improved shoulders
Colwell said since February 2009 there has been one complaint logged with TxDOT about the safety of the intersection. Complaints made prior were not immediately accessible by the organization because of a change in the way the information is stored.
He said construction in the area is a cooperative effort between the City of College Station, which is paying for the installment of the traffic signal and the state department, which is covering the cost of the new left-turn lanes.
Colwell said the most effective way for residents to get a speed limit reduced is by contacting their elected officials.
"Contact them and express your concerns," he said. "Then they can come to us with them and we can conduct a speed study and see if we can change that."
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