MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – Conroe Independent School District students are uniting to demand action following the tragic death of a classmate.
The victim, a 16-year-old junior at The Woodlands College Park High School, took his life on the I-45 and Highway 242 flyover.
“He was a junior in high school—not even 18 years old—and he had taken his own life. Let that sink in,” Tinnell said.
This incident marks the second time in nine months that a current or former student from the school has died in a similar manner.
Lacy Tinnell, a junior at College Park High, initiated a Change.org petition advocating for the installation of life-saving barriers or fencing on the flyover in hopes of preventing future tragedies.
The petition has garnered over 13,000 signatures, but it is the heartfelt letter attached that has resonated with many.
“That was kind of my way to express myself,” Tinnell said. “I decided that it should be shared. I posted that with the intent of it just going to my small crowd on my Instagram, my friends from school, thinking maybe it would help one of them. And it really blew up.”
The petition got the attention of Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, who has formally requested that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) install additional barriers and containment fencing along both flyovers.
“Obviously, this will not end the problem of suicide,” Tinnell said. “But hopefully, it will create just a buffer, a few more moments. If this isn’t an option, then they can create one more day, one more chance for someone to reach out to another, one more opportunity for them to decide that they want to live again.”
When asked about the judge’s response to her petition, Tinnell expressed her emotional reaction.
“When I saw the message and I read it, I just immediately started crying tears of joy,” she said. “It’s so unfortunate that it has come to this and that it is taking these tragedies to get us to a point of change. But having local authorities acknowledge that it is an issue and that something needs to be done is just the first step in getting people of higher power to acknowledge us as teenagers.”
Judge Keough confirmed that he has a meeting with TxDOT scheduled to discuss the issue and is committed to ensuring that changes are made.
