Drivers are demanding expansion of the section of State Highway 46 where a fatal crash occurred

The Texas Department of Public Safety said a pickup truck was passing in a no-passing zone when it struck a Toyota Corolla head-on, killing all three passengers in a crash that occurred on Texas State Highway 46 near the border of Kendall and Bandera counties . .

The accident happened on Monday. The three passengers in the Corolla were a married couple, 50-year-old Roger Waid, 53-year-old Patricia Wade, and one of their daughters, 14-year-old Blake Waid, all of whom were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the pickup was transported to a local hospital. It is not known whether charges will be filed against him.

The section of State Highway 46 where the accident occurred has one lane in each direction and is not part of the expansion project currently underway. People from the area say that part of the highway also needs to be expanded because the area is growing rapidly.

“There are all kinds of safety issues, it’s a death trap. You can’t drive around if you have slower vehicles,” said motorcyclist Julia Ruiz.

Ruiz said the portion of State Highway 46 between I-10 and State Highway 16 is dangerous for anyone who uses the road, but especially scary if you’re riding a motorcycle and the road improvements are long overdue.

A big part of the problem is that the area has quickly outgrown the two-lane highway, said Donald Wick, who has lived there for more than 30 years.

‘At number 46 you will probably see two cars as far as Boerne. Now it’s 150, one way, so the traffic has just become terrible,” Wick said.

On top of all the extra cars in that roadway, Tyler Bivens said drivers aren’t taking enough precautions.

“People don’t need to pass that road, it’s too windy. There are a lot of accidents there, too many accidents because people are passing too much,” Bivens said.

The Texas Department of Transportation oversees maintenance on State Highway 46 and Public Information Officer Tanya Brown said the department is aware there is a need for upgrades, some of which are already underway.

“New construction on 46 between Bentwood and Old Boerne Road. That project is going to expand that roadway to six lanes in some areas with raised medians, sidewalks and then also combinations for bicycles,” Brown said.

Brown says TXDOT has already begun the feasibility study, which is the first step in identifying how to update the highway between I-10 and State Highway 16, where the fatal crash occurred.

“Challenging terrain, so we are exploring it. We have identified, as I said, that we need to make some improvements, but we are exploring in that feasibility study what we can do with what we have,” Bruin said.

Once the study is complete, TXDOT will solicit public input prior to the planning phase. At this time there is no clear timeline for the project, but Brown said crashes and traffic will be part of the investigation and will play a role in how quickly the project will begin.