CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The intersection of Texas State Highway 89 and US Highway 77 near Sinton has long been known as dangerous.
The stretch of road seeing a lot of crashes over the years, most recently, one happening Monday when a driver failed to yield to a stop sign, seriously injuring a woman and her baby.
St. Paul resident Vannesa Ruiz frequently drives through the intersection. She said that she is all too familiar with how dangerous the intersection can be.
"Kind of already am triggered to be weary of that intersection because there are people crossing over the highway where the speed limit is 75 and they are basically coming from a stop to a go," Ruiz said.
She was one of the drivers who saw Monday's crash unfold. Ruiz said while her heart goes out to those involved, she realizes that situations like these can happen to anyone.
"I was actually suppose to leave the house sooner than I did, and my daughter wanted to give me a hug and a kiss goodbye," she said. "I felt very lucky that I was not a part of it because I literally just missed it."
Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Rob Mallory said that the intersection has the numbers to back up an unwanted reputation.
"In this particular area there have been 51 crashes over the last five years," he said.
Some of those crashes resulting in death.
"Three fatal crashes within the last three years, same contributing factor each time, failed to yield right of way at the stop sign to that southbound traffic," Mallory said.
While flashing lights were added to the stop sign to make it more visible to drivers, Ruiz said that is simply not enough.
"There definitely needs to be a stop light just to be safe, and just to control that," she said. "There are people that try to cut in front of you, to try to beat you."
A thought she ponders as her own children prepare to get behind the wheel.
"I have a son who's going through driver's ed. right now and I'm kind of just putting it through his head, like this is very scary, this is a very scary intersection, you need to be weary," she said.