AUSTIN (KXAN) — For seven years, Josh Bumb has been fighting for safety improvements on Menchaca Road.
The Moontower Saloon owner said he can’t even count how many close calls he’s seen for both drivers and pedestrians on his stretch just south of Slaughter Lane.
“It’s extremely wide, there are no lights and cars are traveling at a high speed,” Bumb said. “This is a great combination of killing people.”
Bumb’s continued frustrations were heightened after hearing about the most recent fatal crash last Saturday.
WATCH: Man accused of intoxication manslaughter after hitting, killing pedestrian with his vehicle
Austin Police arrested Paul Joseph Garcia Junior for intoxication manslaughter after he struck a homeless man and kept driving. The force of the impact was so strong that the body of Lee Martin Cagle, 55, went through the windshield and into the passenger seat.
Garcia Jr. eventually pulled off to the side of the road around half a mile South of the collision. Police found him at the South Austin Beer Garden where door staff greeted him shoe-less and shaken up.
“We didn’t know what kind of trouble he was in, we just knew it was bad,” said David Pearce, the co-owner of the South Austin Beer Garden. “He was in tears. He was distraught. In a panicked state. You could see he had tears in his eyes and it looked like he was running from something.”
The TABC said it is investigating several establishments who may have overserved Garcia Jr. prior to the crash.
But drinking and driving is only one of Bumb’s several concerns.
The saloon owner said he has pushed the City of Austin, Travis County and the Texas Department of Transportation for safety improvements. He said people frequently try to cross several lanes of traffic to get to businesses since there is few parking options and even fewer crosswalks.
“People were walking across the road from every angle,” Bumb said. “We used to have a generator light to illuminate the road so people could see. If you try to cross the road, you may get caught in the middle.”
Homelessness has also grown in the area. Several business owners, including Bumb, said that there are frequently homeless men and women crossing the street. Police said Cagle was pushing a shopping cart across Menchaca when Garcia Jr. struck him.
Bumb said TxDOT officials have come out in the past to do traffic studies. Travis County officials said they are using bond money to help TxDOT with a current construction project to help widen the road. But additional traffic studies will likely need to be completed if further improvements are to be made.
“Everyone is passing the buck,” Bumb said. “Does anyone give a rat’s a** about safety?”
Tonight on KXAN News at 10 p.m., Alex Caprariello will find out what improvements TxDOT has planned for Menchaca Road.
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