BEAUMONT, Texas — A family barely escaped with their lives after a wreck in Beaumont and are pleading with officials to take action.
The accident happened just off of Interstate 10, near the Washington exit. The family says this all could have been and should have been avoided, with proper warning signs.
The grandmother and her two grandchildren were on the freeway when the lane narrowed so quickly, she didn't have time to change lanes. That's when she says a U-Haul rear ended her SUV.
Now, her SUV is in pieces at at Spanky's Towing in Beaumont.
"Something needs to be done about that because someone's gonna die there, but we didn't so i'm trying to save other people," the grandmother said.
She says she saw construction signs, but didn't know the road was ending.
"There's no warning there are no cones. There's I mean, the lane just ends and I don't understand because everywhere else there are cones. Everywhere but not there," she said.
The driver's daughter, Victoria, says the lane ending so abruptly caused her family's crash.
"They need to warn people that that lane ends in a concrete wall. Because if my mom wasn't there stopped at a standstill, where would that truck have gone? Because that truck would've hit a concrete barrier," Victoria said.
Now, she's just happy her two kids and mom are safe.
"My seatbelt was covering my shoulders and it didn't give me any booboos," one child said.
Victoria says, she wants the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to do something about it.
"People thought that people died there yesterday and so I hope that those people that were afraid or worried or concerned. Now know that everybody is ok and walked away and lived to tell the tale and hopefully make some changes that Beaumont desperately needs to see," she said.
TxDOT maintains the area is marked as well as possible.
"We've put fresh markings down to really indicate that that right lane is exiting to Washington. We also have pavement marking leading up to that that indicate that it is an exit only lane. We also have a large, lit up, portable message sign that says right lane must exit," said TxDOT Spokesperson Sarah Dupre.
Dupre also offers advice for those driving in construction zones.
"When you are out there make sure that your paying full attention to the roadway. It might not be the same that it was the last time that you drove through there. Make sure that you're paying attention to the pavement markings and any sort of signage," she said.
There have been 34 crashes in that area this year, according to TxDOT's website.
TxDOT says you can give feed back on their roadways by visiting their website or giving them a call.