Light Up 421: In Memory of Savannah | Help Make U.S. 421 Safer
The Issue
My name is Tabatha Austin, and Savannah was my 17-year-old daughter.
On January 17, 2026, Savannah was struck and killed on U.S. 421/Delway Highway near Rose Hill, North Carolina.
Her brothers witnessed their sister being struck. After she was hit, Savannah died in my arms.
Savannah was born February 7, 2008. She was smart, funny, incredibly good with technology, and she loved working with cars. She wanted to become an engineer. She had plans for a career, a family of her own, and a future she never got the chance to live.
She was Forever 17.
The area where Savannah was killed becomes extremely dark at night, and there are stretches of U.S. 421 with limited or no roadway lighting.
Light Up 421: In Memory of Savannah is asking the North Carolina Department of Transportation and appropriate state and local officials to conduct a formal nighttime safety and roadway-lighting evaluation of U.S. 421/Delway Highway.
We are asking for an immediate assessment near the location where Savannah was struck, a broader evaluation of dark sections of U.S. 421, review of crash and pedestrian-safety data, and consideration of roadway lighting and other appropriate safety improvements.
We understand that roadway lighting cannot prevent every tragedy. We are asking officials to study this highway, examine the evidence, identify dangerous areas, and make reasonable safety improvements where the evidence supports them.
I cannot change what happened on January 17. I cannot erase what Savannah’s brothers witnessed. I cannot change the fact that my daughter died in my arms.
But I can fight to make this road safer for somebody else’s daughter, son, mother, father, brother, sister, or friend.
Please sign Light Up 421 and stand with our family in asking for a safer U.S. 421.
Savannah
02/07/2008 – 01/17/2026
Forever 17
For Savannah. For our community. For every person who still has to make it home.
130
The Issue
My name is Tabatha Austin, and Savannah was my 17-year-old daughter.
On January 17, 2026, Savannah was struck and killed on U.S. 421/Delway Highway near Rose Hill, North Carolina.
Her brothers witnessed their sister being struck. After she was hit, Savannah died in my arms.
Savannah was born February 7, 2008. She was smart, funny, incredibly good with technology, and she loved working with cars. She wanted to become an engineer. She had plans for a career, a family of her own, and a future she never got the chance to live.
She was Forever 17.
The area where Savannah was killed becomes extremely dark at night, and there are stretches of U.S. 421 with limited or no roadway lighting.
Light Up 421: In Memory of Savannah is asking the North Carolina Department of Transportation and appropriate state and local officials to conduct a formal nighttime safety and roadway-lighting evaluation of U.S. 421/Delway Highway.
We are asking for an immediate assessment near the location where Savannah was struck, a broader evaluation of dark sections of U.S. 421, review of crash and pedestrian-safety data, and consideration of roadway lighting and other appropriate safety improvements.
We understand that roadway lighting cannot prevent every tragedy. We are asking officials to study this highway, examine the evidence, identify dangerous areas, and make reasonable safety improvements where the evidence supports them.
I cannot change what happened on January 17. I cannot erase what Savannah’s brothers witnessed. I cannot change the fact that my daughter died in my arms.
But I can fight to make this road safer for somebody else’s daughter, son, mother, father, brother, sister, or friend.
Please sign Light Up 421 and stand with our family in asking for a safer U.S. 421.
Savannah
02/07/2008 – 01/17/2026
Forever 17
For Savannah. For our community. For every person who still has to make it home.
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Petition created on September 26, 2026