A Polk County family is doing their part to keep people safe on the roads.

  • Couple whose son killed create PART, People Against Road Tragedy
  • Group offers support to families of victims
  • Roadside memorial created in honor of son

Mark and Judi Piburn’s son, Mark Piburn, died while walking alongside Alturas Road in Polk County. His parents said that night, their son was taking his normal walk alongside the road to the store.

"February 15, 2014, our lives changes forever,” said Judi Piburn. “When the sheriff came and knocked on our door at 2 o’clock in the morning and said our son had been killed by a driver, hit by a car, we'll never be the same."

“Had we known how dangerous it was, we would’ve made sure that he didn’t walk,” said Mark Piburn. “We didn’t know at that time. Since then, we found out how serious of a problem it is.”

Two years after their son’s death, the Piburns decided to turn their grief into advocacy, creating the group, “People Against Road Tragedy," or PART for short.

"You keep living it every day when you talk to a new parent that’s now suffering or you read about the tragedies, but this is the sacrifice we're willing to make if it can save one person or change somebody's mind about distracted driving when their children are in their car,” said Judi Piburn.

The couple has created a roadside memorial in honor of their son. It reminds people to avoid distracted driving. The driver in their son's case told authorities she didn't see him.

The couple believes the tall grass may have been one of the reasons their son was walking alongside the roadway. Ever since the crash, the elder Mark Piburn has been mowing the grass along the roadway.

"Even when we started mowing, there was a couple times that a vehicle came pretty close to me on the mower, not paying attention to what was going on so we try to take all of the precautions we can to stop that,” explained Mark Piburn.

He wears a bright safety vest, and he put a flag on his riding mower. The couple also got the county to put up pedestrian signs and a crosswalk at the stoplight.

"Whatever we can do to prevent someone else from having to deal with what we have, we want to do that," Mark Piburn said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4,735 pedestrians nationwide died in traffic crashes in 2013.

Through the couple’s advocacy group, the Piburns offer support to the families of victims.
 
Here’s a link to their group: https://www.facebook.com/P.A.R.T.PeopleAgainstRoadTragedy/