King County community, leadership push for road safety one year after fatal crash

On March 19, 2024, four people, including three children, died in a horrific car crash on 140th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 192nd Street in Fairwood, Washington. Andrea Hudson, Buster Brown, Matilda, and Eloise Wilcoxson were hit by a car going 112 miles an hour. One year later, the crash still has a profound impact on their families and community.

“These were four beautiful people and had… if they were living their life… they were going to be spectacular,” said Jacqueline Robertson, a family friend.

Since this tragedy, many who live near the intersection have voiced outrage to King County leadership about how dangerous that stretch of road can be for everyone.

“We’ve made some little changes, but not enough. Not enough to honor the four that are gone,” Robertson said.

Robertson says her son was a good friend of Buster Brown. She came by the crash site one year later, placing flowers and reflecting on how the crash shook the community. She says the crash had not only a profound impact on her, but her son especially.

“It affected him and so that day I wanted to make sure that I did everything in my power to do something to honor them,” Robertson said.

King County leadership has heard those concerns from the public about 140th Avenue Southeast. Councilmember Reagan Dunn represents the district where the crash happened and has spearheaded many efforts to find ways to improve road safety. He tells KIRO 7 they have reduced the speed on that stretch of road from 40 to 35 mph, added pylons in the medians, and placed at least five radars tracking people’s speed. He says he also plans to introduce the idea of putting roundabouts near the intersection where the crash happened, too.

“We funded a traffic study that has come back and they have made a number of recommendations which we will follow up on,” Dunn said.

While many are happy to see these improvements, ever since the tragedy first happened, the Wilcoxson and Brown families have said it will take more than just laws and road improvements to truly make the roads safe for everyone.

“I think maybe the one message that I feel passionately about is that each of us analyze our own behavior,” Jaron Brown, Buster’s father, said to a crowd at a safety meeting in April 2024.

The Wilcoxson family sent KIRO 7 this statement on the improvements made to the area in the past year:

“I appreciate the efforts in this traffic safety project. The changes being made now would have made all the difference on March 19th of last year. If they would have been in place then, Andrea, Buster, Matilda and Eloise would not have been taken from us. However, these traffic calming measures are only part of what is needed. We need people to respect the law and be held accountable when they don’t. We are reaping what we’ve sown by allowing people to disregard law on the road and elsewhere. We need accountability at every level of offense. We need stronger law enforcement because laws without consequences are meaningless.”

Two of Hudson’s children were inside the car and survived the crash. Jones was charged with four counts of vehicular manslaughter and his pre-trial hearing is set for April 7.