Madera area California Highway Patrol receives $130,000 traffic safety grant to be used for education and enforcement

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) — The California Highway Patrol says 106 crash deaths occurred in the Madera area between 2020 and 2023.

The agency recently received $130,000 in grant money to help combat these deadly statistics and make the county’s roads and highways safer.

That’s welcome news for Maria Balch, who has been fighting to make Madera County roads safe since she was in an accident.

“When I was in the hospital after my car accident, I promised that if God kept me alive, he would keep me here for a reason, and he would make sure I would fight,” Balch said.

About six years ago, Balch was pushed into oncoming traffic by another vehicle while she was stopped on Avenue 12 near Highway 41.

“As they were pulling me to a safe first spot, the car in front of me exploded,” Balch said.

The California Highway Patrol Madera area office says that in addition to the fatal crashes, more than 2,600 people have been injured in car crashes.

“It’s very heartbreaking, as we talked before, this is 100% preventable,” said CHP Madera spokesman Sergio Moreno.

The Fatal Reduction for Education and Enforcement grant, also known as FREE, from the California Office of Traffic Safety. The grant will provide additional officers for Highways 145, 152, 99 and Highway 41, including unincorporated rural roads.

Moreno says they hope to reach out to the community to educate people about the rules of the road.

“This grant will allow us to not only deploy additional officers to patrol, but also reduce the number of deaths and injuries resulting from accidents,” Moreno said.

On Friday, CHP Madera responded to another fatal crash on Highway 41 near Children’s Boulevard.

Investigators say a car rear-ended another vehicle while they were stopped by traffic.

This caused a pile-up. The driver, who was believed to be at fault, was taken to hospital, where he later died.

After years of fighting for safer streets, Balch hopes people understand the importance of obeying traffic rules.

“Is it worth that speed to run head-on into someone and kill yourself or kill someone else? You could have killed me. It could have killed someone’s mother, wife, daughter, and for nothing,” Balch said.

The subsidy money is expected to run until September 2025.

CHP Madera says they will likely look for new grant opportunities once this resource is exhausted.

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