Following the death of an 11-year-old boy at the Kings Lane/Country Club Drive intersection in August, both officials from the city and school board have stated that steps are underway to prevent future tragedies.

At the Sept. 14 meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Mayor Lynn Sebourn started off the meeting by sharing an official statement about the tragedy, where Colton Thomas was riding his bike to school that morning when he was hit and killed by a dump truck.

“These kinds of tragedies remind us we live in a world sometimes that’s got tragedy, loss, and grief,” Sebourn said. “In the face of such tragedy, I don’t know about you, but I feel overwhelmed about what to even do about these sorts of things.”

He continued, saying that while they can fall into despair and not know what to do, they haven’t been left completely helpless.

“We also have a world with compassion, courage, grace, and love, and those are going to be our focus moving forward as we all work together in the city, the school system, all the citizens, on moving forward to protect our children, keep them safer, and to comfort those who grieve, and I hope you’ll help me do that.”

The conversation about safety continued, as a few citizens addressed the board during the public comment section.

First to speak was Taylor Winton, who told the board that all crosswalks need more safety assessments to see how safe they really are.

“The issue is not just the one at Kings Lane, there’s also the one at East Lincoln Elementary as well, and Robert E. Lee (Elementary),” Winton said. “There’s been a lot of growth in that area in the past, even 15 years. Um, and traffic is not what it used to be.”

She also recommended more pedestrian lights that anyone has to press a button to turn on, and making them more visible, as some crosswalks, like the ones at Kings Lane and North Anderson Street, already have a visibility issue. She then proposed an ordinance that would ban trucks over four tons be within school zones during active hours.

“We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle, and sometimes we just, we need to slow down,” Winton said. “Rules are there to keep us safe.”

Winton further emphasized that the children should also be educated about safety, as unfortunately this isn’t the first time someone has been killed. She said there should be a joint effort among the city board, the police department, and the school system to help keep the children safe.

“We need to educate our babies so they know the risks, so something like this doesn’t happen again,” she said. “We need to be together and find a path forward so we can prevent anything like this from ever happening again. This has changed people’s lives, and we lost one.”

The conversation continued with Betty Thurman, who said she lives on Kings Lane and shared her appreciation for the effort that has been made to deal with traffic at the Kings Lane/Country Club Drive intersection, noting that traffic would be backed up from 4:30 to 6 p.m. during the week. However, she said that as a pedestrian who uses the sidewalks, crossing safely at the intersection has become significantly harder. She shared two instances, just a week apart from each other, where if she didn’t verbally warn the cars coming off Kings Lane to Country Club Drive, she would have been hit.

“The cars are so anticipating their turn, they’re not looking for pedestrians,” Thurman said. “I don’t know if a flashing red light that a pedestrian can push the button and make it go solid red; I don’t know if the cars would pay attention to that or not, but something has got to be done because I’m having to watch for six cars now, not three.”

Following public comments, each of the aldermen gave their condolences to the Thomas family during their respective reports. For the Mayor’s Report, Sebourn added to his previous statements and reassured the public that he and City Administrator Jeff Damron have been continuously discussing the topic of safety following the tragedy, where he confirmed they have been having conversations with the police and fire departments, especially those who responded and were at the scene, and the leadership at Tullahoma City Schools and the Board of Education.

“I can assure you that as far as I’m concerned, we will definitely be tiying to make some improvements,” Seboum said. “Don’t know what all those are yet and there’s lot of different things you could do and it’s almost impossible to make things perfect, but I think we can do better and so we’ll be devoted towards doing that.”

During his report, Damron also gave his condolences to the Thomas family and to everyone involved that day, including the teachers and the driver.

“I think we need to keep all of those people in our prayers,” he said.

The following night, the Tullahoma City Schools Board of Education held its monthly meeting, and Director of Schools Dr. April Norris also addressed the tragedy and how the school has been working with the city about student safety, as well as the Thomas family, where parents Mike and Beth Thomas were in attendance.

“Since the tragic death of their son, Colton, I have met with Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, and I do have their blessing to share that we’ve talked,” Norris said. “I’ve answered questions, discussed their concerns, and just want to share that their goal is to remain focused on student safety at our crossing zones and keep that at the forefront of all of our conversations.”

Norris said the school system, along with the city, is focused on productive dialogue and working together to keep students safe.

“Keeping people at our crossing zones is a joint effort, and it takes us all, and that dedicated partnership requires all of us, the school system, the city administration, and the police department,” Norris said. “I look forward to meeting again with the mayor and the city administrator, so we can prioritize the safety and this concern.”

Towards the end of the meeting, Norris took a moment to thank and praise the emergency response team, as well as the school counselors and the emergency responders, for their service to the students and for the support offered during and after the tragedy. She also praised the community for coming together to support the family, teachers, students and others who are grieving and struggling. She also thanked Officer Wallace for filling in as the crossing guard and asked for everyone to continue praying for the Thomas family.

“I think the love and compassion shown mostly here through Tullahoma has been amazing,” Norris said. “Coming from the outside, other districts offering support, food, resources that were sent to our schools, the messages, the cards, it’s been amazing.”

The News reached out to both the city and school district for further comments on how they are working on student safety. The school district sent the following statement from Norris: “Tullahoma City Schools, along with the City of Tullahoma, are focused on working together to keep our students safe. Keeping people at our crosswalks is a joint effort that requires a dedicated partnership among our school system, city administration, and the police department. TCS and the City of Tullahoma are committed to student safety. I look forward to continued meetings with the Mayor and the City Administrator to prioritize this safety concern.

“I would also like to thank our emergency responders and everyone who offered support during this tragedy. This community has rallied around the family, students, teachers, leaders, and others who are grieving and struggling with this trauma. I will continue to talk with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas to support them and share progress, as their goal is to keep the safety of our students at our crossing zones at the forefront of all conversations.”

Further comments from city officials were not received by press time.