BILLINGS– Billings City Council voted Monday to put a school zone near Will James Middle School and review other middle schools and high schools for possible school zones.
“City engineering is already well on its way to getting everything mapped out for the Will James school zone,” said city council member Andrew Lindley.
Watch the report:
The zone would be placed at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Rehberg Lane.
“The current policy says that we will not have school zones in middle schools or high schools. And so my initiative was to review that as quickly as we could and to put in a school zone at Will James on Grand as fast as possible,” said city council member Andrew Lindley.
The Montana Department of Transportation (DOT) controls Grand Avenue, so the city will need approval from the state first. The city is meeting with the DOT in December.
“Normally, we would have had to wait till February, but the engineering team at the city requested that we get moved up and get placed on the December agenda, which the state agreed to,” said Lindley.
The city is also planning to expand its aggressive driving task force and considering prohibiting right turns on red lights in school zones.
This action follows the devastating loss of 13-year-old Chase Lantz, who was hit by a car while walking across Grand Ave. to Will James Middle School the morning of Sept. 24.
“The community and the feelings, the love and the support that they have shown– I don't even have words; it's just been so incredible,” said Chase’s mom, Mariya Lantz.
The past two weeks have been full of grief for the mother, who adopted Chase when he was four years old.
“He's just blessed my life in ways that I didn't know were possible or imaginable in a kid that I didn't birth myself,” said Mariya.
Mariya told MTN she spent as much time as she could with Chase during his last moments in a hospital in Denver.
“I laid with him in the bed. We listened to songs. I just whispered in his ear and spent as much time as I could with him,” said Lantz. “I'll never get to see my son graduate. So, we had a graduation ceremony and printed off a diploma for him so that I have that forever.”
MTN asked Mariya what consequences she hopes to see for the teen driver who hit her son. She told MTN in a written statement, “My heart goes out to that family. They are in our hearts and prayers as they are grieving and navigating this situation in a whole ‘nother way.”
