“It’s bittersweet. I wish we didn’t have to have tragedies like these to get something done that was needed for a long time,” said Luther Police Chief Johnny Leafty.
A significant traffic change is coming to Route 66 between Luther and Wellston next week. Installation is set to begin on a lighted stop sign at the intersection of 66 and SH 102, and some say it’s long overdue.
Amber Danielle Leafty died in a two-vehicle collision at that intersection earlier this year. That night, emergency responders arrived at the tragic scene as they always do, carefully and professionally, doing their job. But this one was different. Amber was the beloved wife of Luther’s police chief, great friend to Wellston Police Chief Alfred Hancock, and “work mom” to almost everyone on scene from Luther and Wellston that fatal night.
Taking Action
Soon after the accident, Chief Hancock contacted State Representative Jim Shaw with a request to do something about the intersection joining the two busy state highways. “I took him an idea and he ran with it and got everything done. There has been a large number of bad wrecks at that intersection, and it has needed to be addressed for a long time,” said Chief Hancock.
Rep. Shaw listened. “He (Chief Hancock) reinforced how dangerous this intersection has been, indicating that on average, there have been three major accidents per year over the last 10 years. That’s way too many.”
Shaw contacted the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, and while he said they had a project planned to address safety issues at that location, it was years out on the schedule.
No one really believed a change could happen this quickly
Working in municipal government as police chief, Leafty knows that even fixing a pothole can sometimes drag on for months with multiple committee meetings and revisions. He applauds the persistent action of those who saw this through.
“At times, government is inefficient and slow for progress; this shows that when people put their minds together for a common good, things can be done quickly.”
An ODOT spokesperson said, “Any time a fatality occurs … we investigate the cause, and if there is an operational improvement that we can make to prevent future accidents, we will implement it.” The assessment included several factors, including traffic volumes, crash history, and the anticipated delay.
The ODOT Commission approved the recommendation to install a lighted stop sign at its December meeting. Work is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, December 16. It will be the first four-way stop for travellers coming from the west at I-35 in Edmond, and will be similar to the four-way stop at the intersection of Route 66 and SH 177 on the east side of Wellston. A road detour persists in Wellston as the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority completes construction of the new bridge on the Turner Turnpike.
The Route 66 and SH102 stop sign project also includes:
- Rumble Strips: Action Safety will install milled rumble strip sets on the SH-66 approaches and the south-leg approach of SH-102 within the next two weeks.
- Electronic Message Boards: Message boards will be placed on each approach of SH-66 to notify the traveling public of the new stop conditions.
- LED Stop Signs: The new 48″ LED perimeter-lit stop signs will be installed the same day the rumble strips are placed.
- “All-Way” placards will be added to all four stop signs at SH-102 and SH-66.
- Stop Bars: New stop bars will be painted on the east and west legs of SH-66.
- Advance Warning Signs: Two 48-inch STOP AHEAD signs with metal red flags will be installed in advance of the new 48-inch stop signs.
- Sign Removal: The two yellow “Traffic Does Not Stop” signs on SH-102 will be removed.
- Striping Adjustments: Minor striping modifications will be implemented as needed to blend with the new stop conditions.
- Speed Study: A speed study will be requested once the new intersection conditions have normalized, typically after about six months.
“I’m glad to see ODOT advanced this effort. This will certainly be a change in traffic flow, and I realize some people will be disappointed with having to come to a complete stop at that intersection,” said Rep. Shaw. “However, it’s clear to me this is long overdue, and I hope we can mitigate future accidents like those that claimed Amber’s life and changed the lives of that family forever.”
Better to give than to receive
The Leafty family is working through the first birthday, holiday, and other milestones without Amber. Two new grandbabies have been born, and each holds part of their Grammy’s name. Counseling has helped them work through the hard days more than dreading them.
Daughter Kaylynn White said, “Thanksgiving was harder than her birthday. She was the ringleader. She cooked the turkey and made Dad carve it, but we all knew it was her.” The duties of being the family photo taker, the organizer of Christmas light-viewing outings, and the head holiday cook now belong to other family members.
Amber was known for preferring to give gifts rather than receive them, except for the year Johnny broke the spouse-rule against giving each other gifts for Christmas. That year, Amber somehow didn’t notice a 50-inch television hidden behind the couch and other surprises just for her. For the record, Amber always broke the no-gift rule for her sweetheart.
A gift to save lives
Kaylynn said the family considers this new stop sign a gift. “It’s Mom putting her hand in and potentially saving someone else’s life.”
Johnny summed it up for the family. “We’ve all been kind of teary-eyed. It shows she made a difference. If it hadn’t happened, how many more fatalities would we have had before something was done?
“This sign right before Christmas,” Chief Leafty said, “it is absolutely a gift. It’s a gift she’s giving to everyone.”
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