A new task force organized by Williamson County Schools met Thursday to try to curb the problem of teenage driving deaths. Five current and former Williamson County students have died since November.
It's a place most of us spend time everyday: the road.
But for five teens, all current and former students in Williamson County, it's the place the brakes were cruelly slammed on both their dreams and their futures.
Savanna Biles, Austin Oppelt, Morgan Fell, Jim Cheek and Riath Al-Shawi were 16 to 18 years old when they died in separate crashes between November and January.
Morgan Fell's principal Sarah Lamb is one of many school leaders now on a task force that met for the first time Thursday morning.
"(Morgan was) very sweet student, she had a very infectious smile," Lamb recalled, "one of the students that all of the students loved."
Members of the task force have one goal.
"Do anything within our power to be able to eliminate traffic accidents with our student drivers," said task force leader Angela Huff.
Sheriff Jeff Long is also a part of the group. His deputies responded to many of the crashes.
"It affects the first responders, it certainly affects the families, it's just tragedies happening over and over," he said.
Sheriff Long says most of the crashes seem to have two major factors contributing to their severity: distracted driving and speed.
Schools offer Driver's Ed, host mock crashes on site and try to remind the students to be safe.
"We have administrators in parking lots in the afternoons to make sure they're buckled up, not distracted," said Principal Lamb.
But with the recent deaths, they say it's not enough. They hope the group can eventually make big changes alongside Williamson County parents. That way the heartache that takes place on these roads can finally end.
Sheriff Long revealed the first concrete plan to cut down on the problem Thursday. He's setting up a traffic unit and enforcement campaign. It will include surveillance points in school zones and other places across the county where deputies will check if people are texting while driving.
