Anger over death of beloved neighbor brings petition for Hwy 25 change

Lea este artículo en español aquí.

On Oct. 20, after years of planning, Priscilla and Mike Jones opened the Mmm Churros pop-up cafe, sharing the space with 3 Queens Carnitas on Tres Pinos Road. That evening, in a post on Facebook, Priscilla wrote: 

“When you support small businesses like us, you’re not just buying a coffee or a treat. You’re supporting a family’s dream. Thank you from the bottom of our cinnamon sugar coated hearts for your continued love and support!”

On Nov. 1, her family and friends decked the yard in front of her house with flowers, balloons and signs to honor her birthday—and her memory.  Just a few days earlier, on Oct. 28, Jones was killed in a head-on collision on a stretch of Hwy 25 south of Bloomfield Avenue.  

“Priscilla was a pillar of our community,” said neighbor Jessyca Hallett. “Her vibrant spirit and unwavering commitment to helping others has made a lasting impact. You don’t always see people who are so focused on really building community.”

In the spirit of activist Joe Hill, who once said, “Don’t mourn, organize,” Jones’ neighbor and friend Erica Morton has started a petition on change.org demanding improvements on Hwy 25, including barriers that would have prevented the accident. 

“I have been aware of the issues on 25 for a long time,” she said. “When that accident happened, I thought, ‘Enough is enough.’ We’ve all known that we need barriers and proper lanes on this road. I felt pushed to do something.”

Morton’s petition has been signed, as of press time, by over 5,000 residents. It states, in part, that taxpayers have wanted an expansion for a long time with their voices left unheard. Morton called on government leaders and CalTrans to listen to them now. 

“I wasn’t sure of what I was doing,” she said. “I just decided to try this out and start harassing all the key players that I could, the ones who make the decisions.”

Morton said that she has had close calls in the same area where Jones was killed, which she described as very dark at night with low visibility. 

“I have people that kind of jerk over and jerk back.” she said. “I have had people pass me there as well. And people coming towards me with their brights on where you have to look down to keep from being blinded.”  

A Dangerous History

According to the UC Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS), over the last 10 years, there have been 514 crashes, 27 of which involved fatalities, along Highway 25 in San Benito County. The roadway from Hwy 101 to the roundabout on Hwy 156 accounts for 216 (42%) of those accidents, 11 of which involved fatalities.

Jones’ accident occurred in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County, which accounts for another 172  accidents over the last ten years, with four fatalities. 

In response to Morton, Mayor Mia Casey said that upgrades done in 2009, under the “Stay Alive on 25” program, added barricades along the San Benito County section of the roadway, which have helped significantly reduce deadly accidents. 

“Unfortunately,” Casey said, “these stop at our county line. It would be great to get Santa Clara County to do the same upgrade.”

Hallett commutes regularly to Santa Clara County, avoiding Hwy 25 by taking Hwys 101 and 156 instead. She said she feels that Santa Clara has forgotten about that stretch of road.

Morton said adding barriers would not be a burden to Santa Clara County, and believes that if the community keeps putting pressure on safety measures, there will be results.

“If you look at the percentage of people who live in Hollister and work in Santa Clara County,” she said, “it’s a very large number.  And all those people are spending money in Santa Clara County. They need to understand that we need a safe road.”

We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.

Calrtrans Scoping Meeting Notice. Photo courtesy of Caltrans.

Calrtrans Scoping Meeting Notice (Spanish). Photo courtesy of Caltrans.